Timid
by YummyJuice
Summary: Libby is just another survivor of the apocalypse, or so everyone thinks. She wants to stay a mystery to everyone badly, but is that going to be possible with a strange sort of relationship with Daryl Dixon? (Daryl/OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note- Hey, my lovelies!**

**Here comes the story I've promised you. It'll be… interesting, to say the least. The things my mind comes up with at five in the morning, let me tell ya. *raises glass* Here's to many more sleepless nights of writing!**

**Daryl POV**

"Drop your weapon." Shane says. Another new arrival at 'camp', I suppose. I look up to see who it is. A very timid looking orange haired girl is gently setting her gun on the ground. "What's your name?" Shane asks the girl, pointing a gun at her head.

"L-Libby." She says, voice quiet and just as timid as she looks. She has big light blue eyes and a pair of lopsided glasses over them. She's pretty short, not much over five feet, I'm guessing. Her hair barely reaches beneath her chin, brought back on both sides with barrettes. She's extremely pale, but that might just be because Shane's pointing a gun at her head.

"Shane, put the gun down, she looks like she couldn't hurt a fly." Glenn says, walking up to him.

"Looks can be deceiving." Shane says, eyeing Libby suspiciously. She backs away a bit.

"I-I just saw the smoke, and thought…" She trails off, in a tiny voice. Lori walks up.

"Shane, come on, you're scaring the poor girl." She says, and Shane puts the gun down. Libby looks immensely relieved, but still a little scared.

"We don't know who she is, she could be a danger to the group." He says in a low voice, arguing with Lori and Glenn.

"To be fair, she could've hurt you a while ago with the knife in her boot, if she wanted to." I say, and she reddens immensely.

"I-I'm sorry, I forgot it was there…" She says, pulling it out and handing it to Shane. He eyes her, but takes it. "I can just go…" She trails off.

"Don't be silly." Lori says. "Shane's just paranoid. You can stay." She tries to start chatting with Libby, and Shane crosses his arms.

"Or she can just go, like she said she would." He says. Lori turns back to him.

"It'd be murder to send her back out there." She says, crossing her arms as well. Libby backs away a bit more, and Andrea walks up to join the argument.

"We should let her stay." She says.

"Agreed." Glenn says. Shane examines the three of them, and throws his hands up in the air.

"Fine, but when she's slitting your throats in your sleep, don't come crying to me!" He says, and gives Libby her weapons back. "Here, I'll make it a little easier for you." She takes them timidly, and slides her knife back in her boot.

…

"Libby, are you coming?" Glenn asks as the scavenging group gets ready to leave. She shakes her head, and he shrugs. "Suit yourself." He says, and the large group leaves. I'm not sure why he expected her to go, she's still as timid as she was the first day she got there. She usually goes scavenging with him, though, since she can get to places most people can't. She leaves to go do the laundry with the other women, and I go out hunting.

**Lori POV**

"So, Libby, we still don't know very much about you." I say casually. "Where are you from?"

"Florida." She says, voice quiet like usually.

"Oh, how did you end up in Georgia?" Amy asks her.

"I moved here when I was fifteen." She tells us, not saying more than she needs to, as always.

"Why's that?" I ask.

"I had to live with my uncle." She says, not looking up from the clothes she's washing.

"Why?" Carol asks. This is a daily task, trying to get Libby to tell us things about herself. She doesn't hold back, you just need to ask her a lot of questions to get to know what you want to.

"My parents died." She says. Everyone else joins in on her silence, and she finally glances up. "It was fifteen years ago, no need to feel bad." She tells us.

"Wait… fifteen years… you're thirty?" Amy asks, a little shocked.

"Yeah." Libby says, going back to the laundry. Funny, she doesn't like talking, but she doesn't like it when we're quiet.

"You look a lot younger." Carol comments.

"I get that a lot." She says simply. "It's only because I'm so small."

"What did you do for a living?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I was a doctor." She tells us, and finishes her load of laundry. "I'm going to head back up now, talk to you later." She puts her clothes in a basket and starts walking back up to the camp. I sigh.

"That girl is a mystery." I mutter.

"She doesn't hold back information, it's just hard to get it out of her. If that makes sense." Amy says.

"Perfect sense." Carol says. "She's a little confusing."

"A little?" Amy asks. "More like a lot. I swear, five minutes ago, I thought she was eighteen or something like that. Not thirty."

"I know." I say. "She's a nice girl, though. Sweet, to say the least. Just very, very timid."

"Timid." Amy says, laughing a little. "That's one way to describe her." We finish our laundry, and we head back to the camp.

**Glenn POV**

We get back, hours later. Everyone's extremely upset about my loud sports car. "Well… I got a cool car." I mutter. Libby just shakes her head a little, and Jim pulls something out that makes the alarm stop.

"Where's Andrea?!" Amy asks, stomping up to me.

"Relax, they got a different ride." I say. "New guy helped us get out."

"New guy?" Shane asks, and the moving van pulls up. Andrea gets out, and Amy tackles her in a hug. Morales' family does the same thing. Rick steps out of the car, and Lori spots him. So does Carl.

"Dad!" he exclaims, and starts running up to him. Rick pulls him into a hug. Lori stares for a second, then walks up to him, hugging him as well. Libby glances around, and then looks at me, confused.

"You're one person short." She says to me quietly, and everyone looks at her. She puts her head down, not liking the sudden attention. "Just saying…" she trails off, voice quiet and timid as always.

"Merle got… left behind." Andrea explains.

"I had to cuff him to the roof, and the key was accidentally dropped." Rick says to Libby. "Were you his friend?"

"No." she tells him.

"Oh." He says, confused. Libby rubs her arm nervously.

"She's, ah, quiet." Lori tells Rick, who nods. After everything settles down, we continue on with our business.

…

At dinner, everyone talks quietly. "I hope you realize Daryl's not going to take this lightly." Dale tells Rick. "He's not the type to sit down and talk civilly."

"I've been told." Rick says.

"If anything, it's my fault." T-Dog says. "I dropped the key."

"I locked him up." Rick says. Libby looks up from her book, a little bit of amusement in her eyes. She's sitting as far away from everyone else as she can, as always. I'm not sure why she finds this funny, or whatever she's thinking.

"I don't want to bring race into this, but…" I start. "It would sound better coming from a white guy." Libby has now closed her book and is watching the scene before her intently. That girl is really freaking weird. She pulls a journal out of her backpack, and starts writing. No one notices but me.

"It doesn't matter who it comes from, Daryl will be pissed either way." Dale says, and then notices Libby writing. "What are you doing?" he asks her, voice gentle. She glances up.

"Just writing." She says, shrugging a little, and looking back down at it.

"What are you writing?" Lori asks her.

"Just a bunch of science-y stuff. Nothing too interesting." She says. Oh. She wasn't writing about the argument. Okay then.

"Can I see?" Lori asks her anyways. Libby shrugs and hands her the notebook. Lori pages through it. "Yeah, I don't understand any of this." She says, handing it back to Libby.

"How about you explain it in English?" Dale asks her. He's one of the people who's always trying to get her to talk.

"It's just my observations on the infection." Libby says. "How it works, time it takes for the change to happen, things like that."

"Are you a scientist or something?" I ask.

"Doctor." Lori and Amy say in sync. Libby continues to write in the notebook.

"What have you discovered, about the infection?" Rick asks. Libby looks uncomfortable like I've never seen her before.

"Oh, well, ah, not much really." She says awkwardly. "Just that you have to destroy the brain and the transformation can take any time from a few minutes, to, well, longer." She brushes her hair back nervously, as though she's lying.

"Nothing else?" Shane asks suspiciously. She shakes her head, and goes back to the journal. She's not writing anymore, just reading, eyebrows furrowed, as if she's trying to understand something. Everyone continues eating, and soon she puts her journal back in her bag, standing and heading to her tent.

**Rick POV**

"How much do you all know about her?" I ask as soon as she's been gone for a few minutes. Everyone looks at each other.

"Barely anything." Andrea says.

"She's really timid. Sweet, though." Lori says. "She buries her nose in that notebook from time to time. Though, if not that than she'll be reading some other book."

"Hm." I say, thinking. "Did anyone else get the feeling she was hiding something?" I ask.

"Yeah." Amy says. "She's usually open when you ask her about herself, but something about that journal…" She shrugs. We're all quiet as we finish eating, and then head off to sleep.

…

The next day, Glenn is outside watching as Dale, Jim and Shane strip his forehead. "Look at them. Vultures!" he exclaims. I pat him on the shoulder, and go to where Carol is beckoning me.

"We washed your clothes." She says, handing them to me.

"Thank you. That's very kind." I tell her, and go to the RV and change. I hear Carl scream, and rush out of the RV, towards the woods. Carl rushes up to me, and Sophia goes to her mother. There's a walker bent over a deer, eating it. Everyone runs up, most of the men with blunt weapons. They start trying to kill it. Libby sighs, like it's only a minor inconvenience, and pulls a knife out of her boot. She walks up to it fearlessly, standing only inches away from it and its deadly teeth. She stabs it in the face, and it goes limp, falling to the ground. She cleans her knife off on her jeans. Everyone stares at her, and she glances back at us.

"What?" she asks timidly.

"That was… kind of dangerous." Shane says. Libby blows out a puff of air.

"Not for me." She mutters, and heads back to the camp. We all look at each other. I'm about to say something, but some guy with a crossbow comes out of the woods. I assume it's Daryl.

"Ah, hell, I've been tracking this deer for miles." He mutters, kicking the dead walker. Then he looks up at us. "Still got plenty of squirrel. Merle and his lazy ass can help me skin it." He says, then starts walking back to camp. "Merle! Where the hell are ya?" we hear him call out. We all follow him.

"Daryl, can we talk for a second?" Shane asks him.

"Where the hell's Merle?" Daryl asks. Libby is standing near the RV, watching the scene before her intently. Something about her and conflict, she's extremely interested in it.

"He… didn't come back." Shane says awkwardly.

"He get bit?" Daryl asks.

"No… he just got left behind." Shane says. Daryl advances on him, and I intervene.

"It was my fault. I cuffed him to the roof, he was a danger to everyone else." I tell him.

"And who the hell are you?" He asks.

"Rick Grimes." I tell him. "We were leaving and the key was dropped mistakenly."

"Which dumb fucker dropped it?" He growls. T-Dog steps up. "Couldn't you pick it up?" Daryl asks angrily.

"I dropped it down a pipe." T-Dog tells him. Daryl pushes him back, and starts hitting him. Everyone stands there, watching in shock.

"Stop." A voice says sternly. We all look at Libby, the source of the voice. She's looking timid as ever, but her voice was strong, I almost didn't think it was her. It distracted Daryl long enough for Shane and I to pull him off of T-Dog.

"Now, do you want to calm down so we can talk about this like adults?" I ask, kneeling before him. He looks at me a second, then nods. "Alright," I start, "Now, T-Dog chained the door to the roof shut. He's still out there."

"Yeah, unless he's already died of exposure." Daryl says sourly. "And, show of hands, how many of you are doctors?" Everyone looks at Libby, who puts a hand up timidly. "Ah, who asked you?" He says.

"You did." Glenn mutters, and Daryl glares at him. We eventually come to an agreement with him, to go back and get Daryl, and that bag of guns. We leave, with T-Dog and Glenn.

**Andrea POV**

"It seems like there's always laundry to do around here…" I mutter. Lori, Libby, Carol, Amy, Jacqui, and I are doing laundry, even though they did a load just yesterday. We joke around a bit, and laugh a lot. Carol's husband, Ed, walks up.

"What are you ladies laughing about?" he asks, smoking a cigarette.

"Oh, nothing." I tell him. He stands there for a while, watching us as we do laundry.

"This isn't a comedy club." He says, and I see a look of pure hatred flash across Libby's face. It's gone quickly, though. "Why don't you all just be quiet and do the laundry?" he asks.

"Why don't you do your own laundry?" I ask him. He advances on me, he's quite a big man. I hold my ground.

"I'm not going to be told by a woman what to do." He says. "Come on, Carol, we're leaving."

"Is she going to show up at dinner with fresh bruises?" Jacqui asks. "We can all see them, Ed."

"Come on Carol." He says once more, ignoring Jacqui's comment. Carol stands, and walks towards him.

"Carol, don't." I say, and she stops, unsure what to do.

"You're going to listen to me, woman!" he exclaims, slapping her across the face. In the blink of an eye, Libby is standing in front of her. She grabs his wrist, and pushes up her finger, into the soft spot where his veins are. He tries to grab her with his other hand, but she does the same thing to it. She shoves him backward, she's a lot stronger than she looks. He staggers, but tries going after her. She swipes her foot under his feet, and he falls the ground.

"Hit her again and I'll break your wrists." She tells him, voice quiet, but not as timid.

"You don't have the guts." He growls. She kneels before him.

"Try me." She says threateningly. Shane comes up.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"Libby's a badass, that's what's going on." Amy says happily. Carol kneels before Ed, sobbing, and Libby stands. Her face is reddened due to the attention she's getting.

"I… was just trying to help." She says, voice small again. Shane pats her on the shoulder.

"You're tougher than you let on." He tells her, and she looks down, embarrassed. Ed and Carol leave. "And I hope you were serious about breaking his wrists." He tells Libby. She just nods, trying to communicate that she had been serious without talking. He goes back up to the camp, and we continue washing clothes.

…

We're all eating dinner, and talking to each other about our pasts. "What about you, Libby? Got any stories?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that, then?" Shane asks her.

"My uncle." She says.

"The one you lived with?" Lori asks, and Libby nods. "What was his name?" she asks.

"Harry." She tells us, and Lori nods. Amy stands.

"Where are you going?" I ask her.

"To use the toilet, I was trying to be subtle." She says, and everyone laughs. Libby even lets out a small chuckle. Everyone's in good spirits tonight. Hopefully it lasts.

**Libby POV**

I hear Amy scream. Well that bit of peace didn't last very long. I stand quickly, and pull my knife to the boot. "Everyone, to the RV!" Shane explains. I throw my gun to Andrea.

"Don't you need it?!" she asks. I hold up my knife. "You're crazy, but okay!" She runs towards where Amy screamed, and I start towards the RV. There's walkers everywhere, God, you would've thought we'd have smelled them. I'm stabbing the damned things left and right. They don't scare me at all, even though most everything does.

Lori and Carl are having issues, so I run up to them. "Get behind me, and stay behind me." I say sternly, and face the walkers.

"But, Libby-" Lori tries to start.

"Once I've taken care of them get to the RV." I tell her. The only time I'm talkative is during emergencies, ironically. I stab one walker up the chin, pushing the knife up into its brain. It goes limp, and I pull the knife out, kicking it back. I continue doing this to walkers until there aren't many left around us. "Go. Now!" I order Lori and Carl, and they run for the RV. Rick, Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog return, with the guns. I clean my knife on my jeans and put it in my boot, and Rick throws me a gun. I help them take out the rest of the walkers. Once they're all gone, everything's quiet. Andrea sobs over Amy, who's been bitten. Jim has been bitten, as well, and Ed's dead. I'll admit, I won't be too sad that he's gone, but Jim's an okay guy. Everyone's determined that there's some way he could be fine. I guess it's a possibility, but… I don't know. I help treat him, being a doctor and all, but it just keeps getting worse and worse. I just can't deal with all of these losses anymore.

**Author's Note- It's a little slow paced at first, but I think you'll enjoy where I'm going with it. Bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note- Hello, my pretties!**

**God, I am excited about this story. It's going places, kids!**

**Libby POV**

"How is he doing?" Rick asks as I come out of Jim's tent. I just sigh, shaking my head a little.

"That bad, huh?" Glenn says. Shane walks up.

"Talk words at us, Libby." He says. "Tell us what's going on." I've always hated that phrase. 'Talk words'? Well what else would I talk?

"Fever." I say. "His temperature is going through the roof. This is one of the first signs of the infection spreading. I'm sorry." I say everything that needs to be said, so I don't need to talk anymore.

"There's no way he could live?" Rick asks.

"No." I say quietly. "He hasn't got much time left. The rest of the day, maybe."

We're all quiet. "We could go to the CDC. I heard they're working on a cure." Glenn says. "You could probably even help out there, Libby." He says, and I nod. I'd be a little more help than they realize.

"So, is that the plan? The CDC?" Daryl asks. I look to Rick and Shane, and they both nod.

"Everyone, pack your things." Rick says. "We'll leave soon." I go to my tent and start packing it up.

…

I sit in the back of the RV with Jim. "How?" he asks me, all of the sudden. I'm a little startled, we haven't been talking.

"How, what?" I ask him.

"You know what." He says, pointing to my shoulder. I let out a little sigh.

"I don't know how." I say quietly. "I'd switch places with you if I could, honestly."

"I don't need anyone else dying for me." He says. "You're a… good girl. Remind me of my own daughter. Quiet, timid, but a good mind and heart. Stay alive, Libby. Please." He's holding my hand.

"I'll try." I say, voice a whisper. He nods.

"I want to be let out." He says. "Leave me here." I nod, and go to the front of the RV, communicating Jim's wishes to Dale. He pulls over, and so do all of the other vehicles.

"What's going on?" Rick asks. I'm supporting Jim.

"He… wants to be left here." Andrea says. I take him over to a nice, shady tree and sit him down. He had been like me in a few ways, only speaking when spoken to. We never talked, not once, but he's a good spirit. Just been through some awful things.

"Remember what I told you." He says, patting my hand. I nod a little, not even questioning how he knew about my… situation. I say goodbye to him, and walk back to the RV, waiting for the others to finish saying their goodbyes. Most everyone finishes up, Daryl's the only one left. He just gives Jim a little nod, and walks back to his motorcycle. I wave to Jim, and get in the RV. We start heading towards the CDC once more.

…

We get there, and everyone is coughing and hacking, it reeks of rotting flesh here. The sound of flies buzzing is almost overbearing, but we continue on to the door. I eye the corpses suspiciously, not sure how dead they are. We get to the door, and Rick starts pounding on it, begging for whoever's inside to let us in. I was right about the corpses, as they start rising due to the noise he's making. The low growl of walkers now joins in with the sound of the buzzing.

"We need to get out of here, Rick!" Shane exclaims. I look at the door sadly. I really could've done something, if I was given the right equipment and enough time. Rick keeps pounding on the door, with a fierce desire to get inside.

"I saw it move! The camera moved!" Rick yells. The dead begin lumbering towards us, and for once, I fear them. Not for me, but for the others. There's so many of them.

"You're imagining it!" Shane says. "Either you come with us, or we're going without you!" Rick just keeps pounding on the godforsaken door, and Shane starts leading us back to the vehicles. I pull my knife out of my boot, and follow him. I hear a large metallic scraping noise behind me, like metal sliding against metal. I turn, and see the door has opened, an almost blinding light coming out. We all go in.

"Get what you need now, because once those doors shut, they stay shut." A man dressed in a lab coat tells us. A few people go back to get some things, but I've got everything I need in my backpack. I don't go anywhere without it. They return, and the man takes us to test our blood for the infection.

"Who are you?" Shane asks.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner." The man says. "I'm only testing your blood for safety purposes." He looks at the results from my blood test, and looks up at me. I shake my head slightly, and he puts the papers down. "You're... you're all clear." He tells us. "You all look starved. I'm sure I could whip something up in the kitchen."

We accept his offer graciously, and follow him to the kitchen. We all eat, and most everyone's happy that there's alcohol. I don't drink, though, so it's not all that awe inspiring to me. Still, the food's good, and it's quite entertaining watching the others get drunk, slowly spiraling into an idiotic state of mind. Drunks are a lot more fun to be around, I lived with one for the majority of my teenage life.

There are different kinds of drunks, though. Funny drunks, mean drunks, et cetera. Harry, my uncle, was a funny drunk. Shane, though… Shane's an asshole when he's shitfaced, honestly.

"Where are all of the other doctors?" he slurs out. I can tell immediately this is going to put a damper on the good mood we've been able to maintain thus far.

"They're… gone." Jenner says slowly. "Either left when everything started, or killed themselves when they realized how dire the situation is. I'm all that's left." The silence is uncomfortable. I hate talking, but silence? That's what really makes me sick.

"Well, Libby here's a doctor." Lori says eventually, breaking the silence, thank God. Jenner looks at me.

"Is that right?" he asks, and I nod. "Well, tomorrow I can show you all a video of the infection process, and I can give you some of my notes, Libby. Does that sound good?" he asks.

"Sounds great." I say.

"Good." He says, nodding a little. "Well, if everyone's finished eating, you can all shower and get to bed." Once again, we all accept his offer, and head down to the showers.

…

After everyone showers, I go to my room. Most everyone else went to the game room to check it out, but my mind's a little preoccupied. I kind of want to see what my blood sample results were, how they look compared to everyone else's results. I sneak down to the room where he took our blood.

**Daryl POV**

"What the hell…" I hear someone mutter as I pass one of the rooms. I stop walking, and look at the door. Wasn't that the room we got our blood tested in? I open the door a little, and look in. Libby's standing over a countertop, absorbed in reading something.

"What are you doing?" I ask her, and she jumps, turning quickly. She tries to conceal whatever she was reading behind her back.

"N-nothing." She says in a small voice. I walk up to her, and she shrinks back a bit.

"What do you got behind your back?" I ask her.

"Just some notes on the infection." She says quickly. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read them."

"Why are you being so secretive about it?" I ask.

"You just scared me." She says. "I-I didn't hear you coming. Get a bell or something." She talks an awful lot when she's nervous.

"Uh huh." I say disbelievingly. "So, what are you reading about?"

"Well," she starts, "I was just comparing our blood results to a walkers blood results, to see the differences."

I still don't believe her. "Can I see?" I ask.

"What?" she asks, a little confused.

"I just want to see the papers, Jesus Christ." I say, and she holds a few papers out to me. I take them, noticing she kept one behind her back. Each result page has a name on it, Rick, Shane, Lori, Carl, etc. But, Libby's are missing. "Where are your results?" I ask her.

"Excuse me?" she asks.

"You heard me." I say. "Why are you hiding your results?" She sighs, handing me the last paper. It looks a little different, compared to everyone else's, but I can't tell what's so different about it. She's holding her arm nervously, watching me closely. "I hope you realize I have no clue what any of this means." I tell her, and she breathes a sigh of relief. "But why does yours look different? Are you infected or something?"

"Do I look infected to you?" She asks defensively. "I just have a different blood type. That's all."

"Okay, okay." I say, holding my hands up in surrender. "No need to get your panties in a twist. Here, I'm leaving." I hand her the papers and walk out the door. She's still lying, obviously, but there's no way I'm going to get any answers out of her right now.

**Libby POV**

Thank God, he fell for it. At least, I think he did. I slide the results back in the file they were being kept in, I've seen all I need to see. I wait a few minutes, to make sure Daryl's out of the halls, and I head to my room. I sit on the edge of the bed, thinking. You know, I think I've done enough of that for today. Maybe a good night's sleep will help me clear my head. I click the lamp off, and lie down, closing my eyes.

…

_"Libby, c'mon!" Devin beckons to me as he, Valerie and Aya run down the road._

_ "I'm Libby! She's Aya." Aya says, crossing her arms. My identical twin sister loves messing with Devin._

_ "B-but Libby got the haircut." He says, confused. Valerie giggles a little, and I catch up to them._

_ "No, Aya got the haircut. Libby kept her hair long." Valerie says. Devin looks absolutely flustered, and I let out a little laugh._

_ "They're messing with you, Dev, I'm Libby." I tell him, holding up the book I'm carrying. He smacks his forehead._

_ "Duh. Aya doesn't read." He says, and Aya hits him. "And Libby barely talks." He continues, and I hit him as well._

_ "Gee, you're a real charmer, Dev." Aya says, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, Liberty, let's link arms and skip away from these fools!" she offers me her arm._

_ "Don't call me that." I mutter, forcing her arm back by her side._

_ "Ah, you're such a buzzkill, sissy-poo." She says, pouting._

_ "Don't call me that, either." I tell her. Devin wraps his arm around my shoulder._

_ "Oh, come on, Lib." He says. "Have some fun."_

_ "Her definition of fun is completely different that your definition of fun, Devin." Valerie says teasingly. She and Aya laugh, and I look at them all, confused._

_ "What are you guys talking about?" I ask. _

_ "Nothing." Devin mutters, taking his arm away. I shrug, not exactly understanding what just happened. Suddenly, they all disappear. _

_ "Aya?" I ask, looking around. The road seems stretched, we barely walked five feet away from the mall, but I can't see it. "Valerie? Devin?" I turn in circles. "You guys! This isn't funny! Come out!" I shout, and run into the woods, looking for them. I suddenly run into a walker, it looks like me. Wait, no, it isn't me. "A-Aya?" I ask carefully, backing away. The hair's long, like hers is._

_ "Rrrrngh." The walker growls._

_ "Why me, Libby?" I hear her voice asks. "Why are you okay? What's so different about you?" she asks, voice angry._

_ "I-I'm sorry, Aya!" I say._

_ "I thought we were identical. The exact same." She says. "Why? You're here, and I'm not. Why?"_

_ "I don't why, Aya, please, stop asking me!" I yell, crying. The walker begins a slow stumble towards me, and I start backing away._

_ "You don't need to be afraid of it, Libby. You don't, but I sure was." She says._

_ "You-you aren't dead!" I say. "I didn't see you die, you aren't dead!"_

_ "You don't know that. You didn't come and find me." She says. "Why didn't you come and find me?"_

_ "Stop asking me questions!" I yell. "Wake up, wake up!" I'm hitting myself in the forehead, not even bother to move away from the walker anymore. It grabs me, and sinks its teeth into my shoulder._

…

I sit up quickly, gasping for air. So much for a good night's sleep. "I'm so sorry, Aya…" I mutter. I get up, throwing some clothes on, and head down to breakfast.

**Daryl POV**

We eat breakfast, then Jenner takes us to see the video of the infection process. He gives Libby some notes to read, and then starts to explain the video to us.

"The infection spreads from the bite wound, almost like snake venom. Once it reaches the brain, the victim dies. The infection then takes of the control station of the body, the nervous system, and then the victim reanimates, but they are no longer themselves." He says. Libby nods slowly, I think she already knew all of these things.

"Have you been working on a cure?" Rick asks.

"I was, until recently. The sample I was working with was… accidently destroyed." Jenner tells him. Everyone's quiet, but the new information doesn't seem to affect Libby.

"Is this the only place that's still up and running?" Andrea asks.

"Before communications went down, there was still a center up in France. They may be having more luck than I am." He says.

"I got a question." Dale says. "What's with the clock counting down on the wall?" We all look at it, a big digital clock counting down from an hour.

"That's the countdown to when the generators run out of fuel." Jenner says quietly.

"What happens then?" Shane asks, and Jenner doesn't say anything.

"Vi, what happens when the generators run out of fuel?" Rick asks the computer systems.

"Decontamination will occur." The robotic female voice says.

"What's decontamination?" Andrea asks Jenner, who sighs.

"The building will destroy itself, to get rid of any harmful diseases that may be inside." He says.

"Well then you have to let us out." Lori says. Jenner shakes his head.

"I told you, once those doors shut they stay shut." He says. Everyone starts arguing with him.

…

We went to go see the generators, and it's true, there's no more fuel. I notice Libby slip down the hall. She returns a few minutes later, and hands Jenner a paper. She crosses her arms, and waits for him to say something. He stares at her. "Is it true?" he asks, and she nods.

"You have to let us out of here." She says quietly. Jenner puts the paper down.

"Regardless, I can't open the door to the outside." He says. "It's not simply because I don't want to. There's not enough power." I pick up the paper and look at it, it's her blood test results.

"There must be some way. Just let us try." She tells him. Her voice isn't as timid as it always is. Jenner examines her.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He says, and begins typing on a keyboard. The door to the lobby slides open. "Rick, I'd like a word." He says, and he stays while most everyone else runs out to the lobby. He comes out a few minutes later.

"How are we getting out of here?" he asks. Carol produces a grenade.

"I found this with your things." She says, giving it to him. He nods.

"Everyone, take cover." He says, and we all do so as he throws the grenade at the windows. There's a deafening explosion, and they shatter. We all go out, running towards the RV. There are still walkers shambling around from last night, and we shoot at all of the ones who get too close as we run. Once we're in the RV, everyone takes cover. We hear an explosion, and some of the windows in the RV break, but we're mostly fine.

Everyone's quiet for a few seconds, recovering from what just happened. "So, where are we going?" Glenn asks eventually.

**Author's Note- I'm going to assume most of you already know Libby's secret. I know it's kind of cliché, but it just seems like it'd make for a good story. See you all next chapter, and leave those reviews! Even if they're mean! I could use a good slap in the face from time to time.**

**Oh, and, helpful tip: ever heard of ginger coconut hard candy? Don't try it. It's gross, really, really, gross.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note- Hey, my lovelies!**

**I really just write random crap here at the start of the chapter. I haven't written the story yet. Who knows, I might throw some unicorn action in the story. Just be on the lookout for it, okay? I mean, it might not happen, but still, that shit would be awesome. I really like doing these author's notes, it's like we're connecting, ya know? Alright, ON WITH THE STORY!**

**(Note: I've been sitting here for fifteen minutes contemplating which POV I should start the chapter with, while occasionally glancing up at the television to watch Big Bang Theory. Don't you have such extreme faith in me?)**

**(Note2: I HAVE SUCH A GOOD IDEA FOR THIS CHAPTER NOW BE PROUD OF ME)**

**Rick POV**

We decide to head to Fort Bennett, where there's hopefully a refugee camp. No one asks Libby what she did to make Jenner let us out, because I think we all know she won't tell us. For a while, back at the CDC, I thought she was coming out of her shell, at least a little. She's back to how she used to be, though, maybe even quieter.

We get to a block on the highway, so stuffed up with cars that Daryl could barely make it through on his motorcycle. The RV blew a radiator hose as well, so we have no choice but to stop there. We all start scavenging through cars, might as well make this little rest stop worthwhile.

"Walkers!" Dale shouts suddenly from the top of the RV, and everyone scrambles to hide under some cars.

**Daryl POV**

T-Dog gets his arm cut on some glass, and falls over. Libby is at his side in a flash, she's now in a tank top. She had pulled off the sweatshirt she has been wearing to help stop his bleeding. "Put pressure on that." I hear her whisper to him as she bunches the sweatshirt up and puts it on his arm, and then stands, turning around, and pulls her knife out of her boot. Is that an injury on her shoulder?

She gets ready to fight the three walkers approaching her. I shoot them all in the head quickly with my crossbow, and drag a corpse over T-Dog. Libby gets the idea, and drags one over herself, and I do the same, looking at her and holding a finger to my lips. She raises an eyebrow. Of course, she's always quiet.

The walkers pass without an issue, until I hear Sophia scream. I look up carefully, and see her running into the woods with two walkers trailing her. Rick follows suit, and everyone else emerges from their hiding spots. Libby goes over to T-Dog, to help him out.

"Is that… a bite?" he asks her. Her eyes widen a little, and she looks down at it.

"No, well, yes, but not the kind of bite you're thinking of." She says quickly. "Dog bite." She's talking a lot. So far, that usually means she's lying. I turn her towards me and examine the scarred bite wound.

"That doesn't look like dog teeth did that." I say skeptically, still examining it. She jerks her shoulder away from me.

"Well it did." She says, and turns back to T-Dog. "Let me treat that cut before it gets…" she pauses for a second, as if remembering something. "Before it gets infected." He gets up, and they go into the RV.

…

Rick returns an hour later, with no Sophia. "Where is she?!" Carol exclaims, advancing on him. He looks extremely confused.

"You mean she's not back yet?" he asks.

"Well she isn't going to find her way back on her own!" she yells. Rick puts his hands on her shoulders.

"Calm down." He orders. "I found her, and told her to come back here while I got rid of the walkers." He tells her, and she starts sobbing. "Don't worry, Sophia's a smart girl. She's probably climbed a tree, and is waiting for us there. It's getting dark. We can go out looking tomorrow."

…

The next day, we go out looking for Sophia. In my 'group' is Libby, Glenn, Lori, Andrea and Carol. We walk through the woods for a while, until I hear someone walking nearby. The footsteps are too heavy to be Sophia's, but too light to be those of a walker. Libby pulls her knife out, and carefully approaches the sound of the footsteps. All of a sudden, a girl comes out of the brush. She looks exactly like Libby, except she has no glasses and her hair is long and straight. She's dressed in a pink **unicorn** t-shirt and black jeans. She and Libby stare at each other.

"Well this is awkward." Glenn says.

"Hey… Aya." Libby says quietly.

"Hey Libby." The girl says.

"I think they might know each other, Glenn." Andrea tells him.

"This is my-my sister, Aya." Libby tells us.

"Well don't seem so enthusiastic." Aya mutters sarcastically. Libby rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you aren't an enthusiastic person." Aya says, putting her hands up.

"So you guys are twins?" Glenn asks.

"Yeah." The two girls say in sync.

"That's a little creepy." I mutter. Aya grabs Libby's knife.

"I've been looking for this!" she exclaims. Libby grabs it back.

"That one's mine, dummy." she tells her. Aya grabs it back.

"No, I know for sure that one's mine." She says. "I have yours in my boot." She pulls the knife out, and Libby looks at it.

"This is yours. It has your initials on it." She tells her. "Mine have my initials on it." She snatches her knife back, and hands Aya the other knife. She examines it.

"Oh." She says. The rest of us are watching them go back and forth.

"Is this extremely entertaining for anyone else?" Glenn asks.

"Duck." Libby tells him.

"What?" he asks, looking around. Aya smacks him on the head. "Oh, duck…" He rubs his head.

"So there's two of them now." I mutter. "Great." Aya tries advancing on me, but Libby grabs the back of her shirt.

"Lemme go." Aya complains.

"You want to try beating him up? Fine, be my guest." Libby says, an entertained look on her face. She lets Aya go, and she just kind of stands there.

"Never mind." She mutters, returning to Libby's side. Libby nods, patting her sister on the shoulder. We hear a gunshot.

"You don't think that's them, do you?" Lori asks.

"Probably just taking care of a walker." I tell her.

"They aren't stupid, they wouldn't risk the noise." She says.

"They're fine." I tell her. "We need to keep looking." We continue through the forest.

…

Aya has consumed herself in talking, just nonstop talking, and Libby and I walk ahead of everyone. She looks extremely irritated. "Can't you make her stop?" I whisper. She shakes her head.

"None that don't involve making her unconscious." She whispers back.

"Liberty!" Aya exclaims, and Libby closes her eyes for a second before answering.

"Yes, Aya?" she asks, voice a little irritated.

"See, I told you!" Aya says to Glenn. "Her name's Liberty!" Libby lets out a little frustrated sigh.

"Aya, remember when we talked about talking too much?" she asks.

"Remember when we talked about talking too little?" Aya asks. Libby closes her eyes once more, and mutters something to herself. It kind of sounded like 'She's your sister and you love her.'

"Just go ahead. Keep talking." She tells Aya, waving her off. Her voice sounds tired. Aya keeps on chattering with the others, and Libby picks up a stick, carving away at it with her knife. I think she's resisting the urge to get mad at Aya.

All of a sudden, Andrea lets out a shriek, and I turn quickly. A walker is going after her, and I lift up my crossbow to shoot it. A girl on horseback rides up, though, and hits it in the head with the baseball bat. Then, she turns to us. "I'm looking for Lori Grimes and Libby." She says. Lori steps up, but Libby stays where she is. Aya shoves her foreword, though.

"Who are you?" Lori asks.

"Maggie Greene." The girl says. "Carl's been shot. Rick sent for you two. You're a doctor?" she asks Libby, who nods a little. "He needs your help. Shane and Otis went to get a respirator to perform the surgery." She tells her, and Libby thinks for a second.

"Okay. I'll follow you." She says quietly. Lori gets on the back of the horse, and Maggie tells us how to find her farm, and they ride off. Libby turns to Aya. "You coming or staying?" she asks her.

"Coming, sissy-poo!" Aya says happily, and Libby actually winces a little.

"Don't call me that." She mutters, and the two girls start following the horse tracks. The rest of us decide to head back to the highway.

…

We head up to the farm the next day. Glenn and T-Dog had left the night before, because T-Dog's arm was infected. Aya comes up to us. "Libby's doing the surgery now." She says, tone happy. I have a feeling her voice is always happy, like Libby's voice is always timid.

"How are Rick and Lori?" Dale asks her. She shrugs.

"Libby won't let me in the room…" she trails off.

"Wonder why." I mutter sarcastically, and she glares at me. Libby walks out of the house, and up to Aya.

"What was so important that you were banging on the door?" she asks, irritated. Aya grins.

"Hi." She says, and Libby sighs, patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure mom dropped you on your head." She tells her. "More than a few times."

"Whatever." Aya says, waving it off. We all head back to the little camp we've set up on the edge of the property.

…

"AYA!" I hear Libby yell. It's about six in the morning, not everyone's up yet. She comes out of her tent, in a big sweatshirt and shorts, barefoot, her hair a mess… and blue. Her hair is blue.

"Holy shit." I say, laughing. She glares at me.

"Where is the little bitch?!" she asks, fuming. Someone's not so quiet anymore.

"What's going on?" Rick asks groggily as he comes out of his tent. "Oh. Whoa." He says, examining Libby. She keeps on looking around.

"Where the hell is she?!" she exclaims. She opens Aya's tent, and pulls her out. Everyone's up by now.

Aya's laughing her ass off. "Oh God, you should see yourself right now!" she says. Libby puts a hand on her shoulder, and pushes a finger in. "Ow! Ow! Pressure point!" Aya complains.

"Yeah, I know." Libby says, not moving her hand. "Now, tell me how to get this stuff out!"

"Make me!" Aya says.

"That's what I'm doing!" Libby says, pushing her finger down harder.

"Augh! Okay! Okay!" Aya gives in. "It's washable. Just use shampoo and water." Libby lets her go, and Aya holds her shoulder.

"I'm going to go ask if I can take a shower." Libby mutters, walking towards the house. Rick looks at Aya.

"You realize how stupid that was, right?" he asks.

"Stupid is her specialty!" Libby calls over her shoulder.

"Where did you even get hair dye?" Glenn asks Aya.

"I had a can in my backpack." She tells him.

"Why…?" he says, then thinks. "You know what, never mind." Everyone goes back to their business.

**Libby POV**

After I wash off, I join the others to start looking for Sophia. Aya isn't there, thank God. I think I've had enough of her for today, and it's barely seven. Daryl and I get paired up to go searching, and we go through the woods silently. He glances at me from time to time.

"You still got some blue in your hair." He tells me. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Great." I mutter.

"You gonna get her back?" he asks. I shake my head.

"I'm not gonna start a stupid little prank war with her." I say. "I'll just stab her if she ever comes in my tent again."

"Did _you _just tell a joke?" he asks, laughing a little.

"It wasn't a joke." I tell him. "She's stabbed _me _before."

"Why would she…" he trails off. "Do I really want to know?"

"Probably not." I say. We both go back to being silent.

"I know it's not a dog bite." He says eventually. I let out yet another frustrated sigh.

"Then what do you think it is?" I ask him, not even afraid anymore. I'm just annoyed now. It may be from Aya, who knows. All I know is that I don't want to talk about the bite.

"I'm not sure what I think it is." He says. "But dog teeth didn't do that. Human teeth did."

"If that were the case, I'd be dead or a walker right now." I lie. "Think what you want, but I'm telling you, it was a dog."

"I just think you're not being honest." He says, and I don't say anything. I'm finished talking, I just want to find this little girl and get back to the farm.

We hear a scream, very similar to my own. "Is that Aya?!" I ask, worried.

"It came from that way, come on." He says, and we start going towards the sound of the scream. We come across Aya, her arm covered completely in blood, and she's fighting off a bunch of walkers. I pull my knife out of my boot, and Daryl and I take care of them.

"Aya." I say quietly, walking up to her. "Were you bitten?" I ask. For once, she's speechless. She just nods.

"Libby, we have to-" Daryl tries to start, in a soft voice.

"No! She'll be fine!" I snap at him. He tries to walk up, but I pull my gun off of my belt, pointing it at him. "Don't touch her." I growl. He puts his hands up in surrender and backs up a bit.

"No, Libby, he's right." Aya says quietly. I shake my head.

"No, no, I know you'll be fine!" I say. "I-I just need to wrap it up…" I take off my sweatshirt and tear it in half. I start cleaning the bite wound with one of the halves, tears streaming down my face.

"Stop lying to yourself." Aya says, voice getting upset. "I'm sorry, Lib, I'm so sorry…"

"If I was fine you'll be fine, goddammit!" I yell. "Just shut up for once and let me fix this!" She's quiet as I rip the other half of the sweatshirt into long strips and wrap her upper arm with it. She touches the scar on my shoulder.

"You were bitten." She says quietly. "How are you…?"

"We're identical. You're going to be fine." I tell her. "Aya, why did you sneak out here? You could have been killed!"

"I just… I wanted to help find the little girl…" she says, looking down. I sigh.

"I know what you mean." I say gently. "But, you could have just come with me, or someone at least!"

"I'm sorry." She says, closing her eyes. Daryl cautiously approaches us.

"You were bit?" he asks me.

"Before I joined you guys." I tell him. "Aya's got to be immune too, we're identical." I help Aya off of the log she's sitting on. "C'mon, let's get you back to camp." I say quietly, and we all start walking back.

…

"What happened?" Rick asks as we come out of the woods.

"My sister's an idiot, that's what happened." I tell him. Shane walks up.

"Was she bit?!" he exclaims. "Libby, you know she can't survive that."

"Yes, she can." I tell him sternly.

"Libby-" Rick tries to say.

"I survived it." I say, pointing to the scar on my shoulder. They stare at me, and I just walk off, helping Aya to her tent. I pull a water bottle out of her bag and give it to her. "Drink up." I tell her, and she does what I say.

"Uh, Libby?" I hear Rick outside of her tent. "Can we talk?"

"Holler if you need me." I tell Aya, and get out of the tent. Rick, Shane and Daryl are standing out there.

"Is it true?" Shane asks, and I nod. "That's what you were being so secretive about?" I nod again.

"She should be immune too." I say quietly. "She'll be fine."

"How is this even possible?" Rick asks, shaking his head a little.

"I don't know." I say. "I wish I did. If the CDC haven't of…" I trail off. I could've found a cure, eventually. I _am _the cure, really. Something about my blood, or my brain makes me different than everyone else. I hear Aya coughing, and excuse myself from the little group. I go back in my tent, and she looks paler than our usual pale. "Aya…?" I ask her.

"Hey…" She hacks. "I just have a little cough." I put my hand to her forehead, she's burning up.

"But…" I trail off. "No, this isn't possible…"

**Author's Note- CLIFFHANGERS! YAY!**

**Ah, Aya. You've given us our unicorns, and for that, we are eternally grateful. You'll have to find out what happens to her next chapter **

**What do you guys think about Rick, Shane and Daryl knowing now? Leave a review, let me know what's going on in that little noggin of yours.**

**Alright! See you next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note- Hello, my lovelies!**

**Let's see, what was happening last chapter… Oh yeah, AYA'S DYING WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO THE FUNNY PEOPLE? She brought us unicorns, and for that, I'm grateful. Aya's such a pretty name, don't you think? Alright, I'll stop rambling, and I'll let you enjoy this chapter. Or not. Hell, I don't know if my writing's shitty or not. Whatever, here we go!**

**Libby POV**

"Why is this happening?" I ask quietly. "We're identical, you should be fine…"

"Libby? Is everything alright?" I hear Rick ask. Right. They're still out there.

"Everything-everything's fine!" I call. "I just… need to change her bandages. Will someone get me some gauze?" I hear them talking in low voices, I just can't figure out what they're saying.

"Okay, Daryl's getting you some." Shane says, and he and Rick walk away.

"Why are you freaking out?" Aya asks quietly, a little scared. "It's just a fever, right?"

"Aya, a fever's one of the first signs of infection." I tell her, and her eyes widen.

"That's impossible." She says. "You're immune, I should be-" Daryl comes in the tent, with a roll of gauze.

"Here." He says, handing it to me.

"Thanks." I tell him, unwrapping Aya's bandages. He stays for a second, eyeing us suspiciously, then leaves. I clean her wound out and then wrap it up again.

"What should we do?" she asks.

"There's nothing we can do, but wait and see." I tell her. "You might just have a fever, that's all. When I was bitten I felt kind of woozy for a few days. The fever might be like that."

"Okay." She says, nodding a little. She seems nervous, but goes along with what I say.

"I-I'm sure you'll be fine." I tell her.

"Yeah." She says, kind of staring off into space.

"I think Rick and them still want to talk. I'll be back later, okay?" I say, going towards the tent flap.

"Okay. And Lib?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"You still got some blue in your hair." She tells me, a sly little grin on her face. I smile.

"Sleep with one eye open." I say, and exit the tent. I walk to where everyone else is sitting, and they're all staring at me. Guess Rick decided to tell everyone. I feel my usual sense of uneasiness creeping in, and wish it would go away. It had gone away when Aya got here, but now she's fading. I know it, and I think she knows it, too. Benefit of the doubt though, I suppose.

"How's Aya?" Daryl asks, arms crossed. How much did he hear before he came in the tent?

"Fine." I say, voice quiet. "Just shaken up."

"You're sure she's immune too?" Lori asks.

"Why wouldn't she be?" I answer with another question. "We're twins. Exactly the same. She should be perfectly fine."

"Exactly?" Shane asks. "Then why do you need glasses and she doesn't?"

"Shane." Rick says in a warning tone. I'm quiet. Shane's right, I'm… medically different. I look down at the ground and close my eyes, hoping to open them and wake up at home. I don't want her dying.

"Libby." Andrea says gently.

"She has a fever." I say suddenly, voice cracking a little. "She's infected and she's going to die. Happy now?" I turn quickly, and go back to her tent, fighting the tears that are already forming in my eyes.

"Libby?" Aya asks. "Are-are you okay?" I take my glasses off and set them on her stomach. She picks them up and looks at them for a minute, and then nods her head slowly, understanding.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper. "I-I should have known. We don't even have the same blood type, we're not the same." Tears are streaming down my cheeks.

"Don't feel bad." She tells me, crying as well. "There's nothing you can do about it, Lib." She closes her eyes, and then smiles. "Hey, remember when I tried teaching River how to cook?" she asks. I'm a little shocked, she's never wanted to talk about River.

"Yeah, I was the one who put out the fire and ordered a pizza." I tell her, smiling a little. "River thought it was the coolest thing ever, though."

"Yeah." She says. "'Oh man, Aya, can we do that again?'" She imitates our little sister's voice, and I laugh.

"Man, River…" I trail off. "She was something else."

"She really was." Aya says quietly. We're both still crying, and remembering our little sister just pulls at my heartstrings a little more. "We've just got a lot of bad luck, don't we?" she asks

"Yeah." I say quietly.

"This is probably even worse for you." She says. "You're losing me, for God's sake. And I'm the best person ever." We both laugh a little, and she thinks for a second. "This is a stupid question, but, do you think there's something up there? Like, like a heaven?" She asks me.

"I don't know. Maybe." I say. "Heaven's just never crossed my mind."

"Me neither." She says. "Not until now, anyways. But, if there is… Mom, dad, River, Harry… You think they'd be there?"

"Aya, I…" I trail off.

"Just answer the question, Lib. Please." She say, and I sigh.

"Mom, dad and River, definitely." I say. "Harry's a maybe, though."

"He was a good man, at least, later in his life." She says. "Raised us, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he did." I say, nodding a little. Aya's breathing is getting shallower by the second, the infection is spreading at an alarmingly fast rate.

"You-you forgive me, right? For always being an ass?" she asks. I hold her hand.

"Of course I forgive you, sis." I tell her. "I've never held a grudge for it. It's just how you are." I think for a second. "Still a little pissed about the blue hair, though." I say jokingly, and she laughs a little, and that turns into a cough. Blood comes out. "Aya!" I say, handing her a cloth. She wipes her mouth.

"I'm fine." She says weakly. I hate seeing her like this. "Remember Devin and Valerie?" she asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"It's about time for someone to tell you, Devin had a huge crush on you." She says.

"What? No way." I say, shaking my head a little.

"No, it's true." She says, and takes a shaky breath. "This is going through me a little faster than usual, isn't it?" she asks.

"It's different for everyone." I tell her. "There's really no telling how long it will take."

"Yeah, I suppose." She says, and we keep talking.

…

We talk, for about an hour, and then it seems like it's time. Her skin is almost translucent, and her eyes are dreamy. That's another thing that was different about us, our eyes. Mine are blue speckled with green, and hers are green speckled with blue. It's a small difference, but it's always mattered to us. Her breathing is extremely shallow. "You want to just close your eyes and… wait?" I ask her, and she nods.

"Hey Lib? Do me a favor?" she asks.

"Of course." I say.

"Find that little girl." She tells me. "You know why."

"Yeah, I do." I mutter. "I promise I will." She nods a little.

"I love you, Liberty." She says, and I take a shaky breath.

"I love you too, Aya." I tell her. She closes her eyes, and a few minutes later, her breathing slows to a stop. I sigh, closing my eyes as well, wishing to fade away like she did. "Goodbye." I say quietly. I draw my knees up to my chest and sob into them. "I-I have to do this. I won't let you become one of them." I tell her corpse, and pull my gun off of my belt. I look at her unmoving form, in a way, it's creepy. Almost like looking at my own dead body. I put the gun against the side of her head, hands shaking.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, and pull the trigger.

**Daryl POV**

We hear a gunshot, and everyone jumps. Rick looks over to Aya's tent, sadly. "Guess she passed." He says quietly.

"That has got to suck…" Glenn mutters. "I mean, she just found her sister yesterday…"

"We know, Glenn." Andrea says. "No need to remind us."

"Sorry…" he says sheepishly. Maggie walks up from the house.

"What was the gunshot?" She asks.

"Sorry, that was Libby." Rick explains. "Her sister was bitten, and she had to… put her down." Maggie nods.

"Is she okay?" she asks.

"I'm sure she will be, eventually." He says. "I think she just needs some space right now."

…

Hours later, I'm in my tent, and can't sleep. I can hear tiny little sobs coming from the tent beside mine. She's still pretty shaken up from Aya's death. Everyone was too afraid to go in there and ask her if she wanted to bury her, so she's still sitting in there with her sister. That's gotta be creepy, they're identical. It's like she had to shoot herself in the head.

I sigh, getting up. There's no way I'm getting sleep with all that crying.

**Libby POV**

Someone comes into Aya's tent, and sits next to me. I still have gun in my hands, and my head buried in my knees. It's probably just Andrea or Rick or someone like that, here to tell me bullshit. It'll be okay, she's in a better place now, blah, blah, blah. Whoever it is doesn't say anything, though. Just sits there.

"What do you want?" I ask, voice quiet.

"Nothing." A familiar southern voice says. Daryl? Well, I didn't expect that one. I glance over at him, he's just sitting there, cross-legged, looking at Aya. "Are you going to bury her?" he asks.

"In the morning, I guess." I tell him, looking at Aya once more. I lost our parents, I lost River, I lost Harry, I just… never thought I'd lose her. It hurts, physically hurts, there's a pain in my chest. Twin connection? Maybe. I've never really believed in all of that stuff, though.

My glasses are still in her hand. I can barely see without those things, yet I can't seem to find the courage to reach over and grab them. Daryl sees me struggling, and reaches over, taking the glasses from her limp, lifeless hand. He hands them to me.

"Thanks." I say, voice a whisper, and put them on. He sits with me, for what must have been hours, then gets up and leaves. I feel a little better, though. At least he didn't try to tell me all of that bullshit stuff. That probably would've just made me feel worse. It just brings back those awful memories, of losing River…

…

_"Who was that?" Aya asks nervously as I get off of the phone. My expression must be pretty bad, considering it freaked _her _out. _

_ "It was the police, A." I tell her quietly. "Mom, dad and River have been in an accident."_

_ "What? Where?" she asks, standing up from the couch._

_ "Near the Altamonte mall." I tell her. "C'mon, we're going there."_

_ "That's twenty minutes away, not even including traffic. We're fifteen, Liberty, we don't even know how to drive!" she exclaims. I grab our mom's car keys._

_ "Correction, you don't know how to drive." I tell her. She stares at me._

_ "Did mom teach you or something?" she asks._

_ "I taught myself. Let's go." I tell her, running into the garage. She trails me._

_ "You've _stolen _the car?!" she asks, then thinks for a second. "…Nice."_

_ "Just shut up and get in." I tell her, and we get in the car, driving to where the officer told me the accident had been. There's a huge wreck at the entrance to the mall, with police tape around it and everything. We get out of the car and run up._

_ "Stay back." A man says. "There's nothing to see here." I glare at him._

_ "We're Liberty and Aya Scott, family members." I tell him. "So I think there's something to see here." Before he can say anything, we duck under the tape and run up to our dad's wrecked car. I feel the heat from the car on my face, and I run up, looking in the backseat window. River's sitting there, unconscious. "Get her out, goddammit!" I yell. A man pulls me back._

_ "That's our sister! Get her out!" Aya yells with me. Some men use a tool to pry the back door open and pull her out. They bring her to an ambulance. I fight my way out of the man's grip and run up to them. Why are they putting her in a body bag?_

_ "What are you doing?" I ask quietly, afraid of the answer. Aya's still back by the car, watching as they pull our parents out._

_ "She's gone." A woman tells me. I push the men out of my way, kneeling over the bag. I unzip it. Her pretty little pale face is covered in burns and cuts, and her wavy orange hair is singed at the edges._

_ "River…" I trail off._

_ "The car was on fire when we got here." A man tells me. "There was no chance…" All of his words are going in one ear and out the other._

_ "Stop talking to me." I order, and he shuts up quickly. I lean down, and kiss River on the forehead, and then zip up the bag. "No matter what she says… Don't let Aya see her." I tell the people standing around me, and then walk over to Aya, who's standing over two, much larger body bags. She's sobbing, and I hug her._

_ "How's River?" She whispers. I pull away, putting both hands on her shoulders, and just shake my head. "Oh my God…" she trails off._

_ "Don't look at her." I tell her. "I want you to remember her as she was." She opens her mouth, as if to protest, but then just nods her head._

_ "What are we going to do?" she asks. "Our only other living relative is…"_

_ "I know." I say quietly. "Let's just not think about that for now." She hugs me again, and sobs into my shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Aya." I whisper. "It'll all be okay…"_

…

I sigh, closing my eyes and shaking the memory out of my head. River's face… it still haunts my nightmares. She was only ten when it happened, five years younger than Aya and I. She'd be twenty-five now, probably still in college. Whenever I think of her now, though, I just see her face.

There's a bit of a glow to the blue, slanted walls of the tent, telling me the sun has risen. I look at Aya's body. "Let's… get this over with, shall we?" I ask her in a low voice. Her backpack is resting in the corner, and I grab it, unzipping it. The first thing I find is a photograph, when we were fourteen. It's of her, River and I, River smiling a big grin. She's missing a few of her teeth, and I smile. I remember that day, mom and dad dropped us off at Wekiwa Springs, a local canoeing spot. Aya and I are holding River between us, on our shoulders. She's holding a little turtle we found in the water. It bit her moments after the photo was taken.

River's face is so… innocent. So much better than what I remember it as. And Aya's face is normal, too, not the bloody, translucent mess it is now. I stash the photo in my pocket, and put her backpack down. "I'll finish looting you later." I say, in a weak joking tone. I exit the tent, and the light's a little blinding. Only a few people are up.

To think, this time yesterday I was trying to kill Aya for putting dye in my hair. Now… she's gone. I sit on a log, and Rick walks up to me. "How are you doing?" he asks.

"Fine." I say quietly. He nods a little.

"You want to bury her?" he asks.

"Yeah." I tell him, and he nods again.

"We'll get that done later today." He says, and walks away.

…

We finish digging the hole, and the guys lower Aya's body wrapped up in a blanket into the ground. "She was your only sibling?" Glenn asks. I shake my head.

"I used to have a little sister." I tell him. "River."

"Oh." He says. I can tell he's dying to find out what happened to her. Why not tell him, it doesn't really matter, anyways.

"She died in a car accident, with my parents." I say, and pull the photo out of my pocket, handing it to him. He looks a little surprised, but looks at it.

"She's cute." He says, and looks up at me for permission to pass it around. I nod, and it goes around the little group of people standing around. It finally makes it back to me, and I stash it back in my pocket.

"Do you want to say anything?" Rick asks me.

"Do I ever?" I answer, once again, with another question. He nods, and they start shoveling the dirt back in the ground, over Aya. "Bye, sis." I say, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. "I love you."

**Author's Note- I- *sniffle* I didn't cry while righting this! I'm a woman, goddammit! No tears were shed! *sniffle* *sob* Augh… forget, I'm a sniffling, sobbing baby who had to go to the bathroom multiple times while writing to compose herself. I LOVED AYA, DAMMIT! **

***sob* Well, see you next time, I suppose…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note- *sniffle* Hey, my lovelies.**

**No, I'm not still crying! What do you take me for, a big baby?**

**Well, now that you mention it...**

**Whatever, let's just get into this chapter.**

**Libby POV**

We all gather around the well as Shane and Dale lower some bait into it. There's a walker down there, and they want to get it out before it contaminates the water. "It's not going for it." Dale comments.

"We need some live bait." Andrea says, and looks at Glenn and me, and we in turn look at each other. We were always the ones who did all of the runs into the city, and basically all of the risky stuff.

"Rock paper scissors?" He asks. "Loser goes in the well."

"Sounds fair to me." I say quietly, shrugging, and we start playing.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" he says. "Paper covers rock. I win!" He grins victoriously.

"Hang on. Best two out of three." T-Dog says, and Glenn groans.

"Fine." He says. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"Scissors cut paper." I say. "I win."

"Alright, last round." Andrea says. This is oddly entertaining for everyone else.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Glenn says. "Rock smashes scissors. I win!" He says, and I sigh. They start tying a rope around me. They tie the rope to a rusty looking metal thing, and I go in the well. They lower me slowly.

I hear the sound of something being pulled out of the ground, and I start falling. I let out an involuntary scream, and grab at the sides of the well, trying to stop my falling. I feel a sharp pain in my calf, and I pull it up quickly. Fuck, did it just…?

"Are you okay?!" I hear Shane call as they start pulling me up again.

"Fuck you guys." I say, breathing heavily. "Actually, no, fuck that guy." I say, looking down at the walker again. I'm pulled out of the well.

"Did it bite you?!" T-Dog asks.

"My calf, yeah." I say, shaking a little. "I need to disinfect it, then cauterize it. That'll destroy most of the germs."

"Wait, wait." Maggie says. "Why is no one freaking out about this?!" she asks, and I remember, no one from the farm knows.

"I'm immune." I tell her, gesturing to my shoulder bite. She stares at me.

"Well that would've been nice to know." She mutters. I untie myself from the rope, and Glenn puts it on. I raise a brow at him.

"You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." He says, shrugging a little. Andrea and Lori help me to the house while everyone else takes care of the well walker.

"What do you need to treat it?" Lori asks.

"Rubbing alcohol, three cloths, an iron, and some gauze." I say, and she runs off to get everything I need. She returns, and I start cleaning it off with the first cloth.

"What does it feel like?" Andrea asks quietly. "Getting bitten, I mean."

"Like someone dug a bunch of tiny, rusty, and dull knifes into my calf, and hit every nerve they could find. And it burns badly afterwards." I tell her. I take the second cloth, and put some rubbing alcohol on it. I start lightly dabbing my leg, wincing a bit, but I don't stop until I'm sure I disinfected it enough. I lay the third cloth over it, for safety measures.

"Plug the iron in." I tell Lori, and she does what I say. Beth is standing in the doorway.

"Do you need any help?" she asks.

"No, I've done this before." I lie. For the first bite, I had just poured rubbing alcohol on it and wrapped it in gauze, hoping for the best. The iron heats up, and I take the cloth off of my calf.

"Are you sure you want to do this yourself?" Lori asks, and I nod. I hold the iron in my shaky hands, and press it onto the bite wound. I clench my teeth and shut my eyes tight, and hold it there for twenty seconds. I pull it away and start breathing again, in short, shaky breaths. It hurts a lot, but it had to be done for safety measures.

"Now the gauze." I say shakily. Andrea hands it to me, and I wrap it up carefully, trying not to hurt myself even more. "I think I'm good now." I tell them, still shaking a little.

"Are you able to stand?" Lori asks, and I nod, getting to my feet. We start out back to the others, me limping a little. It hurts like hell, but I don't want them to know. The walker that bit me lays on the ground, in half. I look into the well and see the other half of it at the bottom. Well that was a complete waste.

…

"Walker!" Andrea shouts down from the top of the RV, and aims at it with her gun.

"Don't shoot, we'll handle it." Rick says, and he, Shane, Glenn and T-Dog run up to the walker. Andrea takes aim at the walker anyways, and shoots. "Don't shoot!" Rick calls again, and I see the four men rush over to the walker. They start supporting him to the house, and I walk over to them. The walker was Daryl.

"Can you fix him?" Shane asks, and I nod. They get him to the house, and take him up to the room.

"Get his shirt off." I tell them, and go into the bathroom, grabbing everything I need. I come back out, and Daryl's laid out on the bed, and everyone else is gone. I sit on the edge of the bed and start disinfecting the wound in his side, looks like an arrow did it. Once I'm finished disinfecting, I start stitching it up, and he stirs.

**Daryl POV**

"Be still." I hear Libby say quietly. Her hands are on my side, I think she's stitching it up. I open my eyes, feeling a bit uncomfortable about the fact that I'm shirtless. She doesn't seem to care though. She finishes stitching my side, and moves up to my head, grabbing a cloth. "This is going to hurt a little." She tells me, and begins dabbing at my injury. I wince a little, whatever's on the cloth stings. "Try to stay still, if you tear your stitches I'll have to do it again." She says.

"What is that stuff?" I ask.

"Rubbing alcohol. To disinfect it." She says, and puts the cloth down, then starts stitching it up. Her eyes look dreamy, kind of like she's on medication.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Just a little woozy." She says. "I was bitten earlier." Her voice is a little too casual for my liking. She sees the concern on my face, and smiles a little. "Don't worry, I treated it." She tells me, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"You just looked like you were drugged, is all." I say defensively. "Didn't want you going near me with that needle if you were."

"Mhm." She says, and finishes stitching my head. "Alright, let me wrap you in some gauze." She grabs a roll of gauze, and I try sitting up. I wince though. Without a word, she grabs my hands and pulls me up, and begins wrapping my midsection in the gauze. She does the same with my head, and we look at each other for a few seconds. "Thanks." She says eventually.

"For what?" I ask her, confused. Shouldn't I be thanking her?

"Sitting with me last night." She tells me.

"Oh. That." I say, embarrassed. "I kind of wanted you to shut up so I could sleep."

She lets out a little laugh. "Well, either way, thanks." She says, and gets up to leave. "I think Rick wants to talk to you." She tells me, and walks out of the room.

**Libby POV**

Carol and Lori had cooked a meal as a way of thanking Herschel for his hospitality, but the whole thing ends up being awkward. "Does anyone play guitar?" Glenn asks, in an attempt to raise spirits. I can, but I don't say anything. I've never really enjoyed performing, all those eyes on me make me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Otis could." Patricia says quietly, and the mood drops even lower. Glenn eyes me.

"Didn't you tell me once that you could?" He asks.

"I don't really like playing all that much." I mutter. I remember telling him that, too. Jerk.

"Oh, come on Libby, play us something." Lori says, getting in on Glenn's attempt to raise the spirits. I sigh, and take the guitar from him. I start playing 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift. It's one of those kind of songs that sounds good, even without a person singing.

"I know that song." Andrea says. "Isn't there supposed to be singing though?"

I stop playing and look up at her. "Please don't ask me to." I say.

"Oh, come on, Libby." Dale says. Are they really going to try and talk me into this?

"C'mon, sing a song!" Shane says, clapping his hands together.

"You all realize who you're speaking to?" I ask.

"Please?" Carl asks, and I sigh. They had to bring the kid into it.

"Fine." I say, and start playing and singing the song. **(A/N- YouTube it. It really is a beautiful song, and it'd be better than me just writing it all out.)**

I finish the song, and look up from the guitar. Everyone's staring at me, and I feel myself get red in the face. I set the guitar down. "I think that's enough of that…" I mutter.

"No, no, that was really good Libby." Lori says. "Honestly."

"It was amazing, more like it." Dale says. "Where'd you learn to sing like that?" I look down at the table, face getting redder by the second.

"I think we're going to make her have an anxiety attack." Rick comments. "It really was excellent though."

"Thank you." I mutter, paying extremely close attention to the patterns in the wood of the table. The mood is a little bit better, but not all that much. Dammit, people, that was not enjoyable for me. You better be fucking happy. I don't say this aloud, of course. Too nice, or afraid, or timid, whatever you want to call it.

We all finish eating, and I head off to bed.

…

_"Where am I?" I ask, standing from where I lay on the ground. I'm in the middle of the forest, where the Aya's walker had attacked me. "No, not this again…" I moan, looking around._

_ "Would you like me to read you a story?" I hear a little boy ask. I look around, but I can't find him anywhere._

_ "Uh, excuse me?" I ask._

_ "You look afraid." The boy comments. "Let me read you a story, it'll make you feel better."_

_ "I'd really rather wake up…" I mutter._

_ "Let me read you a story!" The boy yells, voice turning demonic. I can't say anything, I just nod. "Good. Take a seat." His voice returns to normal, and I sit on a stump, placed in the very middle of a circular clearing. I feel like there's many eyes on me, and I can't do anything about it, I'm the very center of attention. "Aren't you going to ask what the story's called?" The boy asks._

_ "W-what's the story called?" I ask, trying to avoid angering him further._

_ "The Little Princess." He says, and I have quite a good feeling I know who it's about. "Would you like me to start?" he asks._

_ "Yes." I say._

_ "Yes what?" He asks, in a taunting voice. Is he really doing this?_

_ "Do I really-" I try to start._

_ "Yes what?!" He says, voice getting demonic again. I feel an involuntary fear take me over._

_ "Yes sir." I say quietly. He giggles a little._

_ "Good!" he says. "Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful little princess, and she had two very beautiful sisters. One was very strong-willed, the other was very sweet. The beautiful little princess though, was timid. Beautiful, little, timid princess."_

_ "Is this really neces-" I try to say._

_ "Don't you know to be quiet when someone's telling you a story?!" He asks angrily. "Listen!"_

_ "Sorry." I say quietly._

_ "One day, a war started amongst the three princess's people. The sweet princess perished along with the king and queen, leaving the strong-willed princess and the timid princess to lead their people. The timid princess was smart, she understood that there was strength in numbers. However, she was far too timid to join together with her army. The strong-willed princess had a good heart, but was not as smart as her sister. She foolishly went to fight the war on her own, and perished just as the sweet princess had." The boy says. "Do you think you know what happened next?"_

_ "I believe I do." I say quietly._

_ "Then let's continue." He says. "The timid princess was left all alone, believing no one cared for her. Her kingdom, though, loved the timid little princess, and were willing to do anything for her. She just didn't know it." He's quiet for a second. "That's odd, the rest of the pages are ripped out. Oh well, did that make you feel better?"_

_ "Not in the slightest." I tell him honestly. "Thank you for trying, I suppose."_

_ "Well, at least you have manners." He says. "Time for you to wake up!"_

…

I open my eyes. What was the point of all of that? What kingdom? The sweet princess was River, and the strong-willed princess was Aya, and I was the timid princess. That much is obvious enough. The war though, that doesn't make too much sense. At first, I thought it was about the walkers, but River died before that.

I sit up, and grab around for my glasses. It's too early for me to be getting this big of a headache. I grab my notebook and pencil from my backpack, and write the story of the Little Princess down. I can examine it later.

I get dressed, and head out to everyone else, with a book in my hand. I sit on a log, and start reading, brushing my hair out of my face every five seconds.

"Hey Libby, I've been meaning to ask you." Andrea says. "What happened to your barrettes?"

"CDC." I say simply, not looking up from my book. She walks up to me.

"Here, I can fix that." She says, standing behind me. She pulls my hair into two small pigtails, and I tense up a little. "Calm down, it's just pigtails." She tells me, standing in front of me once more and examining me.

"I feel like a five year old." I mutter. She pats me on the head.

"You look adorable." She says, and I sigh, looking back down at my book.

…

Later that day, I go with Glenn and Maggie to get something Lori needs. We go to a general store, and I look around. They didn't really tell me what it was that Lori needed, so I'm just looking around for supplies. "Nice pigtails." Glenn tells me teasingly. I glare at him, and he grins.

"What did Lori need?" I ask.

"Yeah, seriously." Maggie says, and we look at each other. Okay, so neither of us know. Glenn rubs the back of his neck nervously.

"I'll just grab it and we can go." He mutters, and I shrug.

"I'm going to go find some barrettes." I tell them, and wonder into the store. I grab a thing of barrettes, and examine it. Pink and sparkly. Goddammit.

I continue looking for barrettes, and hear Maggie scream. I drop the little box I'm holding and pull my knife out of my boot. I run towards the sound of her scream. I find Glenn hitting a walker with a baseball bat, and Maggie backing away from it. "Move!" I say, and go up to the walker. It grabs one of my arms, and I just stab it in the head. Its grip on me goes loose, and I push it back. Glenn runs up to Maggie.

"Are you okay?!" He asks.

"What the hell did Lori need?!" She asks, upset. Glenn's quiet for a few seconds.

"Morning after pills." He says. I clean my knife on my jeans, shaking my head a little. That's it? Jesus, she should've come talked to me. Maggie looks at me, obviously thinking the same thing.

I shake my head. "I didn't know." I tell her, and she nods.

"I'll go find the pills, then." She says sourly, and walks off. Glenn looks at me hopefully.

"I'm gonna go find non-sparkly barrettes." I tell him, and walk off as well.

…

When we get back, I see Maggie go up to Lori and give her the pills, then yell at her. Afterwards, I follow her to the stables to help tend to the horses. We've developed a sort of friendship, where I listen to her talk and nod along when necessary. It's not all that bad, she likes to talk and I'm better at listening.

"I just can't believe her." Maggie complains. "I mean, you and Glenn have been risking your lives to get shit for these people for a long time, and do you ever get thanked?!" I shrug. Better to just let her rant. I take my pigtails out and put my new barrettes in. That's really the entire reason I went with them.

I hear a cat meow, and I jump a little. Maggie looks at me, confused. "You okay?" she asks.

"Allergic." I explain. She laughs a little.

"You're more afraid of a cat than you are of walkers." She says.

"Cats are more of a threat to me." I tell her, and wave my hand, letting her to continue her rant.

"My dad's been apprehensive about you guys being here, and now I see why." She says. "Barely have respect for your own people. You're one of the only civil ones, and you barely talk enough to make a difference!"

"I talk when I need to." I say quietly, running a brush through one of the horse's manes.

"Why though? I mean-" she tries to continues, but Rick walks in the stable, and she shuts up quickly.

"Daryl wants to know if he can move to his tent." He tells me.

"Sure. Just tell him to be careful of his stitches." I tell him, and he nods, walking out. Maggie waits a few seconds before starting up again.

"That's another thing." She says, and I smile a little. She's just looking for new things to complain about now. "That Daryl guy. Taking one of our horses without asking! And it wouldn't kill him to smile every once in a while! What do you think of him?" she asks.

I think for a second. "He's a pretty good guy." I say, shrugging.

"Never done anything that irritated you?" she asks.

"A lot of things, actually." I tell her. "Still, he's a pretty good guy."

**Author's Note- Sorry for the kind-of-longish-not-really-though absence. I had an incident with a- never mind, it's kind of gross. This chapter isn't my best, because I had that incident I was talking and it was really distracting. You know what, I'll tell you. Just don't read the next part if you don't want to know.**

**A naked toddler with diarrhea pooped on my floor. Gross, right?**

**Alright, see you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note- lovelies! my Hello,**

**Alrightie, it's 8:31PM, and I'm actually kind of tired. Which is weird, because I can usually go a week without sleep. I got a pot of coffee, though, and my iPod to listen to some music, so let's see if I can pull an all-nighter!**

**(Note- Don't worry, I will check whatever caffeine-hyped me wrote in the morning before posting. I'm not THAT big of an idiot.)**

**Daryl POV**

We all start eating dinner, once Libby gets back from talking with her 'best friend'. It doesn't bother me that much, it's just a little upsetting that she trusts some girl she just met more than she trusts anyone here. She sits in a corner farther away from everyone else, as always, and eats her food silently. After everyone's finished eating, she pulls her journal out of her backpack and examines something in it, writing things down occasionally.

"What is it that you always do in that journal?" Glenn asks her.

"Science-y stuff." She says quietly.

"What kind of science-y stuff?" Andrea asks.

"The kind that gives me a headache." Libby answers. I casually walk behind her and grab the notebook. The page she's holding is torn out. "Hey!" she exclaims, trying to grab it from me. I toss it to Glenn, and when she tries to get it from him, he tosses it to Shane. When Libby runs up to him, he just holds it in the air, and Libby crosses her arms. "Okay, that is just not nice." She says.

"How tall are you, anyways?" he asks. She mutters something. "What was that?" he asks once more.

"Five foot two…" she mutters again. Shane tosses the notebook back to me, and Libby just blows out a puff of air and sits back down. I open the journal and start looking through it, just a bunch of notes on the infection.

"There's nothing interesting in here!" I say, disappointed, and hand it back to her. She grins a little, and puts the notebook away, and just continues working on the page she tore out. When I try looking at it, she turns it away from me.

"Is there something interesting on that?" Glenn asks. She folds the paper up and puts it in her pocket, not saying anything. "I think there is." He says.

"What is it?" Rick asks. She looks like she's stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Dream interpretation." She mutters.

"What's that?" he asks.

"It is what it is. You write down the details of a dream, and try to figure out what it means." She says.

"What did you have a dream about?" Lori asks.

"It's nothing." She says, trying to wave them off. They leave her be, and a few minutes later, she pulls the paper out again and continues examining it. Glenn looks at her, then looks at me. I nod, and get up casually again. She doesn't notice, she's focused on the paper. I grab it, and try to pull it out of her hand. She pulls back though, and it tears in half. "Stop taking my stuff!" she exclaims. I look at my half of the paper, it's the part that explains what happened in the dream. I hold the paper out of Libby's grasp, and start reading it aloud.

"Awake on the ground in the woods." I say.

"Daryl!" Libby exclaims, reaching for the paper.

"Stand, and demonic little boy's voice starts speaking." I read.

"Don't make me do this!" she says, still reaching for the paper.

"He starts to read story-" She cuts me off by pressure pointing my shoulder. I pull my hands down quickly to knock her hand away, and she grabs the paper. I rub my shoulder. "Ow." I mutter. She sits back down, stashing both paper scraps in her pocket.

"You deserved it." She says, shrugging a little. Everyone sits around talking for a while, and I don't attempt to take her things again. Everyone heads to sleep about an hour later.

**Libby POV**

I lie awake in my tent, forcing myself to stay awake. I don't really want to go to sleep, I'm afraid I'll have a dream similar to last nights. Still, my eyes get heavier and heavier every minute, and I fall asleep without even realizing it.

…

_I sit up, back in the woods. "Hello, Liberty!" The boy says happily._

_ "Hello, Charles." I say, and he's quiet for a few seconds._

_ "That's… that's not my name." He says awkwardly._

_ "It's what I've been calling you in my head." I say, shrugging a little as I stand. I realized the day prior that he can't do anything to me except for scare me. I'll always wake up in the end. I look around, and realize we're in a different spot. "Where's my little clearing?" I ask, searching around._

_ "You sound different." He comments, not answering my question. "Are you no longer afraid?"_

_ "Of you, no." I say. "Of cats, definitely." He's quiet again._

_ "…Anyways, I found the ripped out pages." He says._

_ "Joy." I say sarcastically. "What, I don't even get to sit down this time?"_

_ "Not if you're going to be an ass." He says. I cluck my tongue, shaking my head a little._

_ "Boys your age shouldn't be cursing." I scold him._

_ "Are you supposed to be quiet?!" he asks, voice getting demonic again._

_ "I am out in the real world. This is my mind though, I can do whatever the hell I want." I tell him. Roots start crawling from a tree and wrap themselves around my ankles and wrists, and start pulling me to the ground._

_ "Your biggest fear is being buried alive." He says. "Would you like that to happen?"_

_ "None of this is real. I'll be fine." I tell him bluntly. The roots start pulling me into the ground._

_ "We'll see about that." He snarls, and I'm pulled under. I close my eyes to avoid getting dirt in them. I'm calm for a few minutes, but soon I find myself unable to breathe. Just stay calm Libby, you'll be fine. I open my mouth on a reflex, and it's filled with dirt. The roots continue to pull me deeper and deeper under, and I start coughing, each breath I try to take just puts more dirt in my lungs. I try moving my arms, but the roots hold them firmly in place, bruising them when I move._

_ "Are you afraid yet?" The boy whispers._

…

"Libby. Wake up." I hear someone say. My eyes feel wet. Was I crying?

"Huh?" I ask, opening my eyes. Daryl's kneeling over me, shaking my shoulders.

"You were crying." He says. "And being loud about it, too."

"Sorry for waking you up." I mutter, sitting up.

"What was it?" He asks.

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

"Well, something made you cry." He says. "Go on, tell me."

"It was just a nightmare." I say quietly.

"With the demonic kid?" he asks, and I nod. "What happened?"

"Short version, I was a sarcastic asshole and he had a bunch of roots pull me into the ground." I tell him, and he nods. We sit there for a few seconds. "Well, goodnight." I say finally.

"Goodnight." He says, and leaves. I grab a flashlight and a book, I don't think I'll be getting any more sleep tonight.

**Daryl POV**

Everyone's sitting around eating breakfast the next day, and I notice Libby has bags under her eyes. She must not have slept after I woke her up. Everyone's quiet for a while, until Glenn stands up, like he has something to say.

"Uh, guys?" He says awkwardly. "The barn is full of walkers." We all stare at him. Without a word, we all head down there, and Shane looks in. After a few seconds, he pulls away.

"We have to go." He says simply.

"We can't." Rick tells him.

"Why not? What's holding us back?" Shane asks, walking up to Rick.

"Because my daughter's still out there." Carol speaks up, Shane paces a little.

"Listen, I think it's time that we consider the alternative." He says.

"Hey, I found that doll the other day." I say defensively.

"And that was it, a doll!" Shane exclaims. "Good leads are found in the first forty-eight hours. And I bet if that little girl saw you in the woods, all methed out with a geek ear necklace, she'd run in the other direction!" I go at him, and everyone starts trying to separate us. Libby gets right in between us and shoves us both backwards, and we both fall over.

"That's enough." She says quietly, and returns to where she was standing, a distance away from everyone else.

"Listen, let me talk to Herschel." Rick says. "See if we can work this out. Just give me some time." There's a lot more arguing.

"Hey." I hear Libby say quietly. Most everyone ignores her. "Hey!" she yells, and we all look at her. She gestures to the barn, where you can hear the old boards creaking as walkers try to get out to us. "You might want to continue this argument elsewhere." She says, voice quiet again. We all return to the camp, and Libby trips and falls on the way back. I grab her before she hits the ground, her skin's warmer than it should be.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Just tripped on a rock." She says, not really answering my question. I just nod, letting her go, and we all get back to the camp. Rick goes off to talk to Herschel, and everyone goes back to the business, somewhat apprehensively. Maggie walks up to where Libby is reading.

"Help me tend to the horses?" She asks, and Libby nods, closing her book. The two girls walk off, and when no one's watching, I follow them. I stand outside the back of the stables, so no one can see me, and listen.

"Maggie, just calm down." Libby says. "Glenn isn't good with secrets."

"Whatever." Maggie says, voice still upset. I hear a thud, and one of them runs to get whatever fell. "Are you okay?!" Maggie asks worriedly. Libby fell over again?

"Just a little out of it today." Libby tells her. She sounds tired. They're both quiet.

"Lib, you have a fever." Maggie says, voice small.

"I know." Libby says.

"How, though? It can't be from the bite, can it?" Maggie asks her, and I hear her helping Libby get to her feet. "Here, sit on this box." She says.

"It can be from the bite." Libby says. "I've been thinking about it all day. I'm not immune, my white blood cells just have a strong resistance to the virus. But that doesn't always mean I won't become infected."

"So, that's what's happening? Jesus Christ, are you going to die?" Maggie asks.

"Maybe. There's still a chance that I can get better before anything happens, and I will have built an even stronger resistance. That's what I'm hoping will happen." Libby says.

"But, you could still…?" Maggie trails off.

"Yeah." Libby says, voice barely a whisper.

"Maybe… maybe you should tell everyone." Maggie says, and I just can see Libby shaking her head in my mind. "Oh, come on. They need to at least be prepared if the worst case scenario happens. You were able to tell me, why can't you tell them?"

Libby's quiet. "I don't know." She says eventually.

"Do you not trust them?" Maggie asks.

"It's not that. I trust the majority of them." She says. "But… I just don't know."

"Who don't you trust?" Maggie asks.

"Guess." Libby says.

"Hrm…" Maggie says. "Shane and Daryl."

"One of the two." Libby says, voice a little entertained. I'm now listening intently.

"Daryl?" Maggie asks, voice hopeful. Libby laughs a little.

"Wrong." She says.

"Figures." Maggie mutters.

"You only said Daryl because you're still pissed about the horse." Libby says.

"True." Maggie says, and they both laugh a little. Libby starts coughing, though. "Stop that." Maggie says.

"But-" Libby tries to say.

"Shut up, I know what I said." Maggie says, and Libby lets out a tiny laugh. "So, we just wait and see if you get better now?" Maggie asks.

"Yeah." Libby says.

"I still think you should tell your group, if you even think of them as that." She says.

"They are." Libby says. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay." Maggie says, and they both get quiet, I think they're finished talking. I go back to the camp, a little pissed. She trusts the girl, who again, she just met, more than she trusts any of us. I sit down, and start sharpening my arrows, and Libby returns about half an hour later. She looks around a bit, then walks up to me.

"Have you seen Rick?" she asks quietly.

"No." I say, with attitude. She looks a little confused at my rudeness.

"Okay…" she says, and walks off. I press my knife down a little too hard on my arrow, and it snaps in half.

"Goddammit…" I mutter, throwing it to the side. I grab another arrow and start working on it.

**Libby POV**

I walk up to the house, and knock on the door. Maggie opens it. "Didn't expect to see you so soon." She comments.

"Looking for Rick." I explain. She shrugs.

"He was leaving just as I got back." She says.

"Goddammit…" I mutter. "The one time I want to talk to someone…" She laughs.

"Maybe he's talking to Shane." She suggests. I nod, and we say goodbye. I start looking for both Rick and Shane, feeling extremely weak. I've decided I'll tell Rick, and he can decide the best course of action. I see Shane standing near his car, and I walk up to him.

"Seen Rick?" I ask timidly. I was honest when I was talking to Maggie, I really don't trust this guy. Just something about the way he carries himself.

"Just finished talking to him. Not sure where he went." He says. Jesus Christ, it's not like I'm trying to chase a rabbit around!

"Okay, thanks." I say, and walk off. He stops me, though.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Nothing." I say quickly. "Just wanted to talk to him about Lori's pregnancy." Fuck. I'm not sure if he knows. He nods though, and I walk off once more, to continue my little 'scavenger hunt'.

After looking around for a while, I sit down, tired and discouraged. Maybe I should just tell everyone, at once, while I've still got a chance. I want to keep looking, but I really can't. My legs feel like they'll give out at any second.

"Hey, are you okay?" Glenn asks, noticing how terrible I look.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tell him.

"You sure?" He asks, looking me over.

"Just tired, is all. Didn't get much sleep last night." I say simply, and I see Daryl shake his head a little in the corner of my eye. What is his problem? Glenn nods, and walks off. I grab my book out of my backpack, and read. I'll wait a while, and then maybe I can go looking again.

…

"Libby, a word?" I hear Herschel ask. I look up from my book, a little surprised he's talking to me. We've barely ever said hello to each other.

"Uh, sure." I say, and he leads me to where Rick is. How the hell did he find him so fast? He and Andrea are about to go out looking for Sophia.

"Rick, a word?" Hershel says. Okay then. Why am I involved?

"We only head our guns out because we were going looking for Sophia." Rick explains quickly. Herschel put a hand up.

"I just want to talk." He says. Rick and I follow Herschel out into the woods, he's holding what looks like oversized trash grabbers. He hands one to Rick and another one to me.

"Want to tell us what we're doing?" Rick asks.

"Talking." Herschel says.

"And I'm here, why?" I ask.

"Maggie." He says, and I tense up. Okay, she told her dad, that's fair enough.

"She told you?" I ask quietly, and he nods.

"Told him what?" Rick asks me.

"I was looking for you earlier to tell you about it." I tell him.

"Well, you can tell me about it now." He says.

"I-I think I might be…" I trail off. It was easier telling Maggie. Herschel pats my shoulder understandingly.

"She thinks she might be infected." He says for me. I look down at the ground, closing my eyes.

"That's impossible though." Rick says. "You're immune."

"Almost immune." I correct him, voice a whisper. I explain my suspicions to him. "I might get better though." I say hopefully. He nods.

"And you just discovered this today?" he asks, and I nod. "Well, I'm glad you decided to tell me. We'll do what you were planning to do, wait. You're right, you might get better. As to whether or not we should tell everyone else." He thinks for a second. "That's your call."

I nod slowly. "I'll think about it." I say, unable to make a decision quite yet.

"That's fair." He says, and he and Herschel go on to discuss the walkers in the barn. I mostly just stand there awkwardly, I'm really unable to catch the walkers with them, I feel too weak. I don't plan on dying though, not any time soon. I'll come back from this, I just know I will.

Rick catches a walker, and I look at it. "Oh God…" I trail off. Devin.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"That's- he's-" I try to say. "He was my friend." The walker that was once Devin tries grabbing at me, and I back up a bit. There's another walker stuck in the mud, and I can barely force myself to look at it. I have a feeling I'll know who it is. I look up anyways, and close my eyes as soon as I see her. Valerie.

"Are you okay?" Rick asks, pulling Devin away from me.

"Let's just hurry this up." I mutter, looking away from the two walkers. Herschel catches Valerie.

"Did you know her too?" He asks gently.

"Her name's Valerie, and his is Devin." I tell him. "They were siblings." He nods, and we start heading back to camp, to put my two best friends in the barn.

**Author's Note- I felt like I had to do something, to let Libby know what happened to her friends. We all know what's going to happen next though. Shane shoots them the fuck up. And Libby already doesn't like him, tsk tsk. Maybe I'll have her kill him in his sleep. That would be quite nice.**

**Alright, see you guys around!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note- Hey, my pretties!**

**DRAMATICSHIT'SABOUTTOGODOWNWHYAREYOUSTILLREADINGTH ISGOREADTHESTORY**

**Daryl POV**

Shane's got everyone lined up in front of the farm, and is handing out weapons. He's about to open the door when Rick, Herschel and Libby come out of woods, with Rick and Hershel lugging walkers along with them. Shane advances on the three of them.

"What the hell is this?!" he asks angrily, gesturing to the walkers.

"We've come to an agreement." Rick says calmly. "The walkers stay in the barn."

"Are you insane?! They aren't still people, Rick!" Shane says.

"His barn, his decision." Rick says. Shane pulls a gun out and shoots the female walker in the chest, and Libby cringes. "Shane, don't!" Rick says. Shane continues to shoot it anyways.

"If they were people, how would they survive this?!" He asks.

"Stop!" Libby exclaims, tears forming in her eyes.

"Libby, don't look." Rick tells her, and she looks down, tears streaming down her face now.

"What, you mean you think they're still alive too?" Shane asks her. She doesn't answer his question. "It isn't alive. It's a worthless piece of shit, for all I care." He continues, and Libby actually covers her ears. I've seen her kill walkers before, why does it matter so much now? Shane shoots the walker in the head, and then breaks the lock off of the barn door. Everyone starts shooting at the walkers.

**Libby POV**

Rick looks at Devin nervously, then looks to me. "Can I…?" He asks, and I just nod my head, kneeling over Valerie. I hear the gunshot, and close my eyes. I don't bother to look up while everyone else is shooting the walkers, I just examine Valerie. Her face is rotten, skin gray, and most of her hair is gone. Her chest is riddled with bullets.

"You deserved better." I say quietly, and close her eyes. I turn to Devin. His condition is similar to Valerie's. I close his eyes as well, and close my eyes, crying. This is getting to be too much. I had to shoot Aya in the head, the fucking head. My own twin sister. And now this? My best friends? Why the hell did it have to be them?

Am I going to end up like this too? Maybe… maybe that's for the best. Everyone I've ever loved is gone. It's just me now. I may be in a group, but I've never felt so alone.

The shooting stops, and everyone's quiet. I still don't bother to look up. I hear the moans of a walker though, telling me there's still more. There isn't a gunshot though, and I look up in confusion. Standing in front of the barn is Sophia, and she's a walker.

_"Hey Lib? Do me a favor?" Aya asks._

_ "Of course." I say._

_ "Find that little girl." She tells me. "You know why."_

Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit! I made a simple fucking promise. I haven't even _been _looking for Sophia ever since Aya died! What the hell is my problem?

Rick walks up to the tiny walker, and holds up his gun. "I'm sorry." I hear him whisper, and he shoots her. She collapses, and Carol gets up from where Daryl was holding her back, and walks off. I stand, and glance back at Devin and Valerie.

"This shouldn't have happened to you." I whisper, and turn away. I don't want to be here anymore. And I don't just mean near the barn. I don't want to be with these people, there's just disaster everywhere we go. I think I'll be better off on my own, I'm not a people person anyways. I start walking back to my tent.

**Daryl POV**

Later that day, Lori approaches me in the woods. "Listen, Beth's in some catatonic shock, we need Herschel." She says.

"Yeah, so what?" I ask her, already knowing what she wants me to do.

"So I need you to run in to town real quick and bring him and Rick back." She says.

"Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do." I say bitterly, sharpening my arrows.

"What's the matter with you?" She asks. "Why would you be so selfish?"

"Selfish?" I ask her heatedly. "Listen to me, Olive Oil. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took an arrow and a bullet in the process. Don't you me about getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people." I say. "Besides, Libby's a doctor, have her help Beth out."

"We can't find Libby either." She says. "Please, just-"

"Find 'em yourself." I say, going back to my arrows. She stomps off. A few minutes later, I put my arrows in their holder, and go out hunting. I hear what I think is a deer walking around, and go down in the bushes, waiting. What I see isn't a deer, though, it's Libby, walking in the opposite direction of the camp. I stand. "Where are you going?" I ask her, and she stops walking, tensing up.

"Leaving." She says quietly, and starts walking again. I follow her.

"Why? Because you're infected?" I ask, and she turns towards me.

"How did you know that?" she asks.

"Overheard you and Maggie talking. You're just going to run away from this like a baby? You could've at least had the decency to fucking tell everyone." I tell her.

"I'm leaving because I'm more of an issue than I'm worth." She says bitterly. "I was going to tell everyone, if it counts for anything."

"It doesn't count for shit." I say angrily. "You're leaving without telling anyone. I know you hated everyone here except for your little friend, but you could've told us!"

She looks at me, a little shocked. "I don't hate anyone." She says.

"You certainly act like it!" I say, voice getting louder.

"That's just how I am. I don't like talking, especially around big groups of people. You wanted that? You got the wrong sister." She says. I'm confused for a second, but then I realize she's comparing herself to Aya. "I'll probably going to be dead in an hour anyways, Daryl, why the hell does it matter?" Tears are forming in her eyes.

"What happened to 'There's still a chance I might get better'? You really give up _that _easily?" I ask.

"Everyone I've ever loved is dead. I've got nothing left to live for." She says, voice quiet and turns and starts walking again.

"I'll get you started then." I say quickly. "Beth's in some sort of catatonic state. Needs help. Can you see yourself living to care of her?" I ask, and she turns around, eyeing me warily.

"What happened to her?" she asks.

"Dunno. All I know is she needs help and neither you or Hershel are around. Could die, who knows." I say casually. "You gonna let that happen?"

She looks at me for a second. "Damn you." She mutters, and starts walking back to camp.

"I win." I call after her.

"Shut it." She calls back. I go back to hunting.

**Libby POV**

"What's wrong with Beth?" I ask, walking into her room. Maggie looks up at me.

"How did you know something was wrong?" She asks.

"Daryl." I say, and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"She tried killing herself, and now she's in some sort of coma-like state." She explains. I nod, and start treating Beth. "Where have you been?" Maggie asks.

I think for a second. "Out for a walk." I lie.

"That was a pretty long walk." She says suspiciously. "You were leaving, weren't you?"

I sigh. "I don't want to talk right now, Maggie." I tell her.

"You never do." She mutters, and sits on the other side of the bed, helping me when I need it. "Wanna talk about it now?" she asks about five minutes later.

"No." I tell her.

"How 'bout now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Maybe n-"

"I'm going to kill you if you don't shut up." I say. She puts her hand to my forehead, and I bat it away.

"You don't have a fever anymore." She tells me.

"I still feel tired." I say.

"You're a doctor. You should now you feel tired after you recover from a sickness." She says. "You're better."

"Joy." I mutter. She looks at me.

"What, you wanted to turn?" she asks. I don't say anything. "Is that where you going, to just wait to turn in the woods?"

"Maggie, I-" I try to say.

"No, don't fucking start. You're not dying, or turning, or whatever as long as I'm around. C'mon, Libby, you're better than that." She says. I remain quiet, keeping my eyes on Beth as I tend to her. She thinks for a second. "Want to tell me a story about River, or Aya?" she asks gently. I look up at her skeptically. "I wanna hear about your sisters." She tells me, shrugging. I sigh.

"River, she was real sweet." I start. "Gullible, too. You could tell her a dead cockroach was a piece of candy and she'd just pop it in her mouth."

"You didn't do that, did you?" she asks me.

"No, but Aya did." I say, smiling a little. "River actually had me wash her mouth out with soap." Maggie laughs.

"I think everyone would like it better if you talked more." She says.

"I can handle one on one conversations. I can't handle big groups." I tell her. "Being quiet's just easier for me."

Maggie nods a little. "Tell me more about River." She says. I nod, and continue telling her stories about my little sister.

**Daryl POV**

"Hey, Dixon." I hear Maggie ask as she walks up to me. Jesus, can't people just leave me alone? "Seen Lori?" she asks.

"She asked me to go looking for Rick. Told her to do it herself." I say with attitude.

"You did what?!" She asks.

"You heard me." I tell her.

"Why would you- she just wanted your help!" She exclaims.

"I don't care. This group is broken, is what it is." I say. She glares at me.

"You cared enough to tell Libby to come back." She says, crossing her arms. "If it's so broken, why didn't you just let her leave?"

"That's different." I growl.

"How so? Explain to me how Libby leaving and Lori leaving are two different things." She says.

"I- It- It's not-" I stutter.

"Maybe I can figure it out." She says. "You care about Libby."

"I don' give a damn about Libby, or anyone else at that camp!" I yell. "Libby was going to die if she left, Lori can survive. That's the fucking difference!" My yelling doesn't faze her, she just rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, okay." She says disbelievingly, then walks off. I kick the log I had been sitting on, in anger and frustration. I don't care about Libby!

**Maggie POV**

"Find out where Lori went?" Libby asks as I come into the room.

"Yeah, sent Shane out after her. Apparently, Daryl refused to go look for Rick, Glenn and my dad, so he told Lori to go look for them herself." I tell her, and she furrows her brow.

"That's weird." She mutters. I sit on the side of the bed opposite of her.

"Yeah, it's weird." I say. "Especially since he refused to let _you_ leave." I say.

"Not this again." She groans. "Just let it go, Maggie."

"Okay." I say, being quiet for a second. "Daryl and Libby, sitting in a tree-"

"-I'm gonna kill you in your sleep." She says, to the tune of the rhyme.

"Shutting up now." I say quickly, and she grins, and continues to tend to Beth.

…

When Rick and the others get back, Libby lets my dad tend to Beth. Shane had returned with Lori hours prior. "Libby, I need your help." Rick tells her, and he leads her away.

**Libby POV**

"Yeah?" I ask him. He takes me to the barn, and brings me inside. There's a tied up, blindfolded man, with ear buds in, and his leg is completely bloody. "What happened to him?" I ask, kneeling down over him.

"Leg was impaled on a spike. Can you fix him?" Rick asks.

"I-I don't know, I can try." I tell him uncertainly. I tell him to go get me the things I need, and he nods, walking out of the barn. He returns a few minutes later with the supplies, and I shoo him so I can work. The man stirs, and I hold his leg still. He jerks it around, and I pull an ear bud out. "I'm a doctor, just let me fix your leg." I say, and stick the ear bud back in.

"Can you tell me where I am?" He asks, and I ignore him. Not my decision to make. I just continue fixing his leg. "Uh, if you're saying anything, I can't hear you." He says, then waits a second. "Okay. Ignoring me. That's fine too." Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn come in the barn.

"He's awake." I tell them, glancing up. Rick walks up and takes the ear buds out.

"Who's there?" The man asks.

"Four armed men and a doctor." Glenn says.

"She can do serious damage with that rubbing alcohol, though." Daryl comments.

"Who are you?" Rick asks the man, ignoring Glenn and Daryl.

"I don't have to tell you anything." He says.

"Again, we're four armed men and a doctor with _rubbing alcohol_." Glenn says, saying the last part with extra sarcasm.

"Hey, that shit hurts." Daryl says defensively. I pick up a rag and putting rubbing alcohol on it, I need to disinfect his wounds. I dab his leg with the stuff, and he winces violently.

"Okay! I'll tell you, just stop!" He says, and I look at him, confused.

"But I was just-" I try to start, but Daryl slaps his hand over my mouth.

"You can start off by telling us who you are." Shane says. I sit there grumpily with my arms crossed as they get information from him, and Daryl keeps his hand over my mouth the entire time. Once they finish, he takes his hand away.

"As I was _saying,_" I start. "I need to put the rubbing alcohol on your leg, to disinfect the wound." I grab the rag again and continue to dab the rubbing alcohol on his leg. Randall's quiet, as he realizes the mistake he made. I put the rag down, and grab the needle and thread.

"She's about to start stitching you up, it's not some form of acupuncture torture." Glenn says, and I laugh a little. Shane puts the ear buds back in Randall's ears, and the four of them leave. I finish stitching up his leg, and then wrap it in gauze. After I finish tending to his wound, I leave. I eat dinner with everyone else, then head off to bead.

…

_"Hello!" The little boy says._

_ "Not this again…" I complain. "I don't need to wake up crying in the middle of the night for the second night in a row."_

_ "Are you sure?" He asks. "I would think you would want that…"_

_ "Why the hell would I want that?!" I ask him. He giggles a little bit._

_ "Oh, no reason." He says. "There's someone here who wants to see you…"_

_ "Libby?" I hear a familiar voice ask. I tense up, and the figure of a small girl steps out of the brush._

_ "Why?" I ask the boy quietly. The girl stumbles up to me, her face burnt and bloodied and disfigured. All of her skin is just covered in burn marks. I back away from my little sister slowly._

_ "Why are you afraid of me, Libby?" She asks, still coming closer. "I'm scared. I just want a hug."_

_ "You-you're not River." I say, stumbling back. She rots before my eyes, becoming both a walker and the mutilated version of her former self. Her eyes are just hollow, dark holes. I can't back away any further, I've somehow made it to a cliff edge. I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable._

**Daryl POV**

I hear Libby breathing shakily in the tent next to mine, and know she's having another nightmare. Whatever, I don't care. I turn away from her tent, and cover my ears. I can still faintly hear her though, and sigh, sitting up. I get out of my tent and sneak into hers, and sit cross-legged on the floor before her.

"River…" She moans. I've heard that name before… isn't it her little sister?

"Libby. Wake up." I say gently, shaking her shoulders. She doesn't stir, but she is shaking violently. "Libby!" I say in the loudest whisper I can manage. Her eyes slowly flutter open, though she doesn't stop shaking.

"D-did I wake you up again?" She asks softly.

"I was already awake." I tell her. Her bottom lip is quivering, it looks like she's holding back tears. I watch her, trying to figure out what to do. Ah, fuck it. "C'mere." I tell her, pulling her up into my arms and holding her. She's still shaking, though. "Go ahead." I tell her gently, and she starts crying into my shoulder. She stays there for a while, until the crying and shaking stops, and I realize she's fallen asleep. I lay her back down carefully, and pull the blanket over her. She makes a little moaning noise, and I go still, hoping she doesn't wake up again. She just turns on her side and snuggles more into the blanket. I breathe a sigh of relief, and leave her tent, sneaking back to mine. I lie awake for about an hour longer, waiting to see if she wakes up again. She doesn't, so I finally decide I can go asleep.

**Author's Note- Aw that was so sweet he hugged her to sleep! *Daryl glares* HEY NO THIS IS MY AREA GET BACK IN THE STORY!**

…

**I don't even know I've been drinking this juice and I thought it was juice but it may actually be wine, judging by my mental state at the moment. I've had like five large cups of it. I'm so sorry if this chapter is terrible, I may be drunk right now.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note- Hey my drunken sweethearts!**

**Remember the juice I was drinking last chapter? Well I'm still drinking it and it tastes fabulous. I'm really not sure if it's wine or not, because it's from the Crystal Light pitcher, and we only put Crystal Light in that. Who's we? Not telling. It'll be a mystery for you. Not much of a mystery, but a mystery nonetheless. I mean, I could be living with some sort of cult, and they're just like "Hey, let's get some Crystal Light." And I'm like "Yeah okay."**

**I'll shut up now.**

**(UPDATE- Finished the juice. Delish.)**

**(Note- I changed my pen name to YummyJuice, because why the fuck not.)**

**Libby**** POV**

Glenn, Maggie and I go to a town about an hour away from the farm, to go scavenging. When I slowly start realizing where we're headed, I get kind of excited. It must show on my face, because Maggie notices.

"What're you so happy about?" She asks.

"I think I know where we're headed." I say, smiling a little. We pull up to the front of the town, and Glenn stops the car, and we all get out. I'm grinning like an idiot.

"Seriously, never seen you smile this much." He says.

"This is where I lived with Aya and my uncle Harry." I tell them. "I didn't realize we were so close."

"You think your uncle might be here?" Maggie asks.

"No." I say, the smile disappearing quickly. "I, uh, I'm pretty sure he died when all of this started."

"How do you know?" Glenn asks, and Maggie smacks his arm.

"It's fine." I say, voice a little quieter. "We were on the phone, and I heard him… yeah." I heard him scream, and then the line went dead. Pretty positive that means he died.

"Oh." He says. We walk into town wordlessly, and they notice a large scorch mark on the brick wall of the convenience store.

"Jesus Christ, what happened here?" Maggie asks.

"Aya." I say simply, and they stare at me. "She was playing with Roman Candles." I explain, smiling a little.

"No offense, but I think your sister was crazy." Glenn says.

"She was." I say, shrugging. We go into the convenience store, and grab everything we need from there. Where start going through houses, looking for stuff, and I stop in front of Harry's. It's a pretty crappy looking two story house, with dirty, chipped white paint and a patchy looking lawn.

"You know who lived here?" Maggie asks.

"I did." I say. "It's much better on the inside, trust me." We go inside the house, and everything's just how I remember it. The faint scent of cigarette smoke lingers in the air, and cheap furniture is arranged in the living room, just how I left it. I pick up a photograph from the side table, it's Harry, Aya and I on the first day we moved in here. Harry's drunk, I've got a sour look on my face, and Aya's grinning like an idiot.

"We're gonna go look in the kitchen, okay?" Maggie asks.

"Okay." I say, and they walk off. I walk up the stairs, and into the room I shared with Aya. It's basically split down the middle, the walls on one side a light blue, and the other side purple. Aya's side, the blue side, is exactly how she left it, a huge mess. My side's perfectly clean. Harry didn't touch anything when we left.

I pick up a t-shirt on Aya's side. "Yuck…" I mutter. Who knows how long it's been since it's been washed. I set it down and walk up to our dress, on the back wall right in the middle. I open the large double-drawer on the bottom, which we used for family photo albums and things like that. I pull out the only two albums and stuff them into my backpack. I can look at them later, when I have more time. Maggie and Glenn come in the room.

"Well I can tell whose side is whose…" Glenn mutters.

"Are you ready?" Maggie asks.

"Hang on." I say, going under Aya's bed and grabbing her box. I open it up, there's a gun with a few magazines, and a little journal. I take them out, and toss it to Glenn. He puts them in the bag. "Alright, let's go." I say, and we leave my house.

**Daryl POV**

During dinner, most everyone's quiet, in light of recent situations. As always, Glenn tries to lighten the mood. "Hey, Libby, you still got those albums you found earlier?" He asks Libby.

"Yeah." She says, and he looks at her expectantly. She sighs, and sets her plate down next to her, and then goes into her backpack. She tosses him a photo album. "Have fun." She tells him, picking her plate back up. He pages through the album.

"What is that?" Andrea asks.

"Libby used to live in the town we were scavenging in. She grabbed this from her house." Glenn explains, then pulls a photo out of its sleeve. "Check this one out." He says, grinning and passing it around. It's of her and Aya, when they were about five. They have their arms around each other's shoulders, and they're covered in mud up to their chest. They're both grinning like idiots, and missing quite a few teeth.

Libby looks at it, and smiles a little, then hands it back to Glenn. He passes another picture around, happy that he made the mood better. "Aw, is this River?" Lori asks, and Libby tenses slightly, but looks at the picture.

"Yeah." She says quietly, and hands it to Glenn quickly, as if it's the plague. River was what her nightmare was about, I think. She said her name in her sleep, anyways. Glenn passes around yet another picture, this one with the identical twins sitting at a table. One of their faces is covered with whipped cream.

"Who's who?" Shane asks Libby.

"Er…" She says, looking at it. "I'm the one who pied Aya. Definitely." She tells him, in a way that makes me think she's lying.

"I call bullshit." I say, and she puts a finger to her lips, which makes everyone laugh. Glenn passes around pictures for a while, until everyone finishes eating and head off to bed.

**Libby POV**

Alright, just gotta stay awake. No big deal. You got plenty of stuff to keep you busy, Lib, it won't be that hard. God, I wish I had some coffee. I look through my small pile of books, I've read all of them about fifty times. That won't do much to keep me awake. I look through my backpack, and pull out my little sketchbook. I haven't touched this thing since we were at the quarry. I would just draw random scenes or people, nothing too advanced. I flip through it, and see a drawing of Amy and Andrea at the lake. I don't think anyone ever realized I was drawing them, or even noticed I was there. Kind of creepy now that I think about it, but I had nothing else better to do.

I open to a fresh page, and tap my pencil on the paper. There's nothing to draw in here. I close my eyes, and think. The first thing I see is Aya lying on the floor in her tent, a bullet hole in her head. I open my eyes quickly, and look at the page. I had already started drawing it subconsciously. I sigh, and continue. I can't keep acting like it never happened.

…

I draw for a few hours, and look at the finished product. Just staring at it. On an impulse, I flip to the first page, and see River's burnt and bloodied face. Harry got the little sketchbook for me, all those years ago.

_"Are _you_ doodling on your homework?" Harry asks, walking up. I snap out of my daydream._

_ "Sorry." I tell him quickly. He looks at my little drawing._

_ "Not half bad." He mutters. "Your dad teach you?"_

_ "No, why?" I ask, turning my chair towards him. Of course he doesn't care that I wasn't focusing, it's Harry._

_ "Eh, I taught him a few things." He says, sitting in the chair next to me and pulling out a piece of printer paper. I'm a little surprised, I figured he likes Aya better than me, she's the talkative one. He starts sketching, and I watch him. "See, you weren't getting the shading right." He says, making a replica of my drawing. "You can't press down so hard on the pencil." He hands me a piece of paper, and I draw it again. Once I finish, he claps me on the back. "There you go, Aya!" My shoulders drop a little._

_ "I'm… not Aya." I mutter. He's quiet for a few seconds._

_ "Oh." He says finally. I feel the happy mood disappear, and I turn back to my homework._

_ "Thanks for the tips." I say quietly, and he gets up, walking off. Figures. I mean, I'm used to it, but that one kind of stung. I look at my drawing, then crumple it up, tossing it in the garbage._

…

_A few days later_

…

_ "How was the eye doctor?" Aya asks as I walk in the house. I point to the glasses I'm wearing. "Oh, good! Now people can tell us apart." She says happily._

_ "Yeah." I say, and start heading up to our room. No more awkward situations at school where people mistake me for Aya and then feel like they have to talk to me. _

_ Harry comes in the room. "Uh, hey." He says awkwardly._

_ "Hey." I say, a little confused. He's got to know it's me this time, I'm wearing glasses. He hands me a little sketchbook._

_ "For you to, uh, draw in." He says, and I raise a brow at him._

_ "I'm not mad." I tell him._

_ "I know, just thought you might like it." He says._

_ "Oh, well thanks." I say, looking at it. He nods, and walks out of the room._

I know he did it out of guilt, but I liked it anyways. A few times after that, I caught him trying to teach Aya to draw, which actually kind of hurt a little. Like he wasn't even going to try with me. Whatever, I'm used to it. Nothing to whine about, especially years later. I flip to another clean page, and continue drawing.

…

The next day, I'm walking past the barn on my way to the stables. "Please! I've told you everything!" I hear Randall beg, and I stop walking, listening in.

"You've told me shit!" I hear Daryl say, and Randall cries out in pain.

"I swear to God! I barely knew those guys!" He exclaim. Daryl must do something, because Randall gives in. "Okay, okay! I was in a group of about thirty guys. They never stayed anywhere for more than one night, but I don't know where they're going next! That's all I know!"

"I don't believe you." Daryl growls, and I hear a ripping noise. Randall screams in pain.

"They've got a lot of automatic weapons. But I'm not dangerous, I swear! I'm not like them!" He says. "One night, while scavenging, we found this guy with his daughters. They raped the girls in front of them for fun, but I wasn't a part of it! I swear!" I hear Daryl start beating down on him. "Please! I swear to God!" But Daryl doesn't stop.

**Daryl POV**

I continue to beat down on Randall. "Daryl." I hear someone say softly, and I turn around. Libby's standing in the doorway of the farm's slaughter shed. "I think he's told you everything." I stare at her.

"How long have you…" I trail off.

"A few minutes." She tells me. I look down at the bloody knife in my hand, really wishing I wasn't holding it anymore. "It's fine. He's said everything. Just leave it." She says.

I look at her for a few seconds. "Okay." I say finally, wiping the blade of my knife off on my jeans. She walks out of the barn while I cover Randall's eyes again and put the ear buds back in. I feel pretty awful, and I don't even know why. I don't feel awful about beating Randall, I know that's for sure. There was just a blank, emotionless look on her face when she told me to stop, I couldn't tell if she was upset. I walk out of the barn, and Libby's nowhere to be seen. Guess I really didn't expect her to wait or anything. I walk up to everyone waiting at camp to tell them what I found out.

"Basically, if this gang rolls through here, our boys are dead, and our women, they're gonna, well they're gonna wish they were." I finish.

"How'd you get all that out of him?" Carol asks. I see Libby out of the corner of my eye, and she just nods me on.

"We had a little chat." I tell her, and Libby doesn't bat an eyelash.

"He isn't safe." Rick says, talking about Randall. "We have to get rid of him."

"Get rid of him how?" Libby speaks up.

"I think you know how." He says.

"You just can't decide on your own to take someone's life." Dale says. "We gotta at least talk about this. Give everyone a vote."

"He's a threat. We can't just let him go." Rick says.

"We can't just kill him either. I don't know about you, but I've got a shred of my humanity left." Dale argues. "Just give me the rest of the day. Let me try and convince you all."

Rick's quiet for a few seconds, but grudgingly gives in. "Fine. You have the rest of the day." He says, and Dale nods. Everyone goes back to their business.

**Libby POV**

I'm walking towards the stables, but Dale intervenes me, to try and convince me to let Randall live. I put a hand up. "Save it. I'm on your side." I tell him.

"I could tell." He says. "I'd like your help in convincing some people, though."

I let out a little ironic laugh. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not a people person." I tell him.

"I figured you're just shy." He says, and I shake my head.

"Talking isn't my thing, never has been." I say.

"Well you're certainly very convincing to some people." He says, and I give him a confused look. "I saw you near the barn. You convinced Daryl to stop in no time flat."

"I just asked him to." I say. "No big deal."

"Well maybe you can ask him to let the kid live." He says hopefully. I shake my head.

"I only stopped him because he was beating Randall to death. Whatever decision he makes is his choice, not mine." I tell him. He opens his mouth, as if to argue, but just shakes his head.

"Maybe you should start thinking about the effect you have on that man." He says.

"I don't _have_ an effect." I say, getting a little irritated. "I respect you, Dale, but you just have absolutely no idea who I am. Please don't talk like you do."

"Would you really say that if Aya were here? River? Harry?" He asks, and I turn my head away, closing my eyes.

"If they were here, you wouldn't even be talking to me about this. You'd be talking to Aya. She's better with this sort of thing, she's the talkative one, she's the one everyone likes! And don't even _mention _River like that. She was a sweet little girl, not to be used as a bargaining chip." I say, feeling blind anger fill me. "And Harry… I don't even know. What I do know is, if they were here, you wouldn't notice that I was."

He stares at me. "Libby, I didn't mean it like that." He says gently. "I shouldn't have mentioned them. I'm sorry."

I look down. "It- I didn't mean to- I didn't mean to get mad." I say quietly. "Just, don't come to me looking for help with these kinds of things, alright?"

He nods slowly. "Sorry for upsetting you." He says, and walks off. I just turn and continue heading to the stables.

**Daryl POV**

Dale approaches me while I'm loading some bolts into my crossbow, by the house and lake in the woods. I glance up at him. "The whole point of me coming up here is to get away from you people." I tell him. "Who sent you? Carol? Libby?"

"You really think Libby would send me?" He asks.

"Anything's possible." I say, returning to inspecting my bolts.

"They aren't the only ones worried about you." He says.

"Libby ain't worried about me." I say.

"Then why'd you ask if she sent me?" He asks.

"Cause she thinks I'm a monster." I tell him. That's what I had decided she thought.

"What makes you think that?" He asks.

"Just know." I say, shrugging. "What do you want?"

"To talk about the kid." He says. "I don't think we should-"

"Lemme stop you there." I say. "It doesn't matter what I vote. Rick will only listen to Shane, even though he's a fucking murderer."

He looks at me, confused. "What do you mean?" He asks.

"He came back from that high school with a dead man's gun." I tell him.

"And the fact that he killed Otis doesn't bother you?" He asks, shocked.

"Ain't none of my business." I say, standing. "This group's broken, old man. Time to come to terms with that." I walk off into the wood.

…

We all sit in the living room of the house, to discuss Randall's fate. Dale is begging everyone to do what's right. Carol, Maggie, Herschel, Patricia and I stay neutral about it. "Anyone side with Dale?" Rick asks. Libby puts up a hand, and after a few moments, so does Andrea. That's it, though. "That settles it. I'm sorry, we're going to go through with this." Rick tells them. Dale gets up to leave, but before he does, he puts a hand on my arm.

"This group _is_ broken." He tells me, and leaves.

**Author's Note- Sorry this chapter took longer than usual! I literally rewrote it five times, and I'm still kind of iffy about it. Then I thought, fuck it, it's my story. That's the kind of go-getter attitude you can get from me! Now, let's do an analysis on this chapter, something that I never usually do.**

**-Libby found a few photo albums.**

**Sweet**

**-Libby has a sketchbook that her uncle gave her.**

**Also sweet.**

**-Libby feels like no one likes her.**

**So totally wrong. Libby's my favorite person ever.**

**-Libby 'talked' Daryl out of beating Randall's ass.**

**She just told him to, actually.**

**I'd continue, but I'm getting bored of it, and I kind of want to get an early start on the next chapter. See you guys next time!**

**(Oh, and I'd like to point out that last chapter was the chapter I got the most reviews on, and it was mostly about my juice/wine. Love where your priorities are, guys.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note- Hey, sweethearts!**

**This chapter is-**

**I got up to go pee, and totally forgot where I was going with that. Good one, Liva, keepin' the audience on their tows.**

**I just said tows and now I'm thinking about you guys being on tow trucks. That's how it's spelled, right? I think so. Now the word 'tows' in the above line has blue squiggles underneath, but fuck the police, amirite? (I am a small white girl, and I promise I'll never say that ever again.)**

**Alright, enough of my rambling, on with the chapter!**

**(If you enjoy my rambling, though, feel free to PM me. It may be shocking to you, but people that aren't on their computers don't find me as dazzling as y'all do. So send a message my way sometimes, I'd love to talk to you.)**

**Okay, now, seriously, ON WITH IT!**

**Daryl POV**

Rick, Shane and I go to execute Randall. We drag him alongside us, with him begging the entire time. "This is all going to be over soon." Shane tells him, and he's quiet for a second as he realizes what's happening to him. He begs even harder. We get to the barn.

"Do you want to stand or kneel?" Rick asks him, and he doesn't answer. I shove him to his knees. Rick points his gun at Randall's head, and is about to pull the trigger. Carl silently enters the barn, though.

"Do it!" He exclaims, and Rick stares at him, horrified. He slowly lowers the gun.

"Take him away. Interrogate him some more, or something." He says quietly, and I do as he says, dragging Randall towards the slaughter shed. I throw him on my ground, and pull out my knife.

"Please." He begs me, and I 'm about to cut him, but I hear Dale scream. I rush out of the barn, and spot him in the field, with a walker over him. I run over, and pull the walker off of him, stabbing it up through the neck. It goes limp, and I push it back, and kneel over Dale. His insides are spilling out.

"Help!" I call to the others, and then lower my voice. "Just stay calm. We'll get you through this." He goes into a state of shock, unable to say anything. The others gather around us, and Andrea kneels over Dale as well, crying.

"Rick, do something!" She begs him. He pulls his gun off of his belt, and points it at Dale's head. He doesn't pull the trigger, though. I glance back at the others, and see Libby standing there, a look of pure horror on her face. I feel the awful feeling return again, knotting up my stomach, and I take the gun from Rick. I look at Dale.

"Sorry, brother." I tell him, and pull the trigger. Andrea sobs over his limp body. I hand Rick his gun after a few minutes of silence. I glance back at the others again, and see Libby let out a long exhale, closing her eyes. The awful feeling gets a little worse. There's nothing I can do about it though, and I just stand. Everyone slowly disassembles, all in a state of shock.

…

We all gather for dinner, though not everyone eats. Libby didn't, I was kind of surprised she just didn't go straight to bed. She just sits in her corner, drawing in some sort of notebook. I can tell Glenn's about to ask her what it is, but she just puts a hand up.

"It's nothing." She tells him sternly, and he drops it. We all continue eating in silence, and finally head off to bed.

…

I lie awake for hours, and can still hear Libby tossing and turning. It's driving me crazy. Finally, I just swallow my pride and get up, heading over to her tent. She goes still at the sound of the tent opening, and I sit cross legged before her.

"I know you're awake." I tell her.

"I didn't have a nightmare. I'm fine." She says. I don't move, though, and she sits up. "What do you want?" She asks irritably, grabbing her glasses and putting them on. I open and close my mouth a few times, as if to say something.

"I don't know." I say finally. "I just… I just don't like it when you're upset."

She examines me for a few seconds. "Honestly, I don't like it when I'm upset very much either." She says, and I chuckle a little. "I'm fine, Daryl. Just a little shaken up."

"A little?" I ask her skeptically.

"Maybe a lot." She admits. "But I'll _be _fine, at least." We sit there for a few minutes, I'm not really sure why she didn't just tell me to leave. She's looking anywhere but me, and I take the chance to examine her face. She has heavy bags underneath her eyes.

"You need to sleep eventually." I tell her.

"Who says?" She asks quietly, looking down.

"Just try to think about different things before you sleep, instead of dreading the kid." I say. She shakes her head.

"I don't think that'll help." She tells me.

"Couldn't hurt to try." I say, and she rubs her arm.

"Maybe." She says warily, still looking down. "I just don't want to wake up sobbing again."

"You slept pretty well when…" I trail off. She slept pretty well when she fell asleep in my arms. She bites her bottom lip, I'm pretty sure she knows what I'm talking about. We sit in silence, and I regret even bringing it up.

Suddenly, she crawls into my lap, wrapping her arms loosely around my neck and resting her head in the crook of my neck. After a few seconds of surprise, I wrap my arms around her, rubbing her back lightly. She lets out a little content sigh, and the awful feeling disappears from me completely. Her chest is rising and falling softly against mine, and I can feel her breath on my neck. Eventually, I feel her arms slide off of my shoulders, she fell asleep. I hold her for a few minutes longer before gently lying her back down, pulling the blanket over her and taking off her glasses. I watch her a few seconds, making sure she won't wake up again.

"Goodnight." I say quietly, and leave her tent.

**Author's Note- And that concludes this depressingly short chapter!**

**Now, I have my reasons. I'm thinkin' of y'all, here. Tomorrow, I won't be home all day, I'll be at a theme park with a few friends. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for that long, so yeah. I threw this together. Don't you worry your pretty little minds, a regular length chapter will be up in a few days' time.**

**Alright, see you guys next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note- Hello, my darling little angels!**

**Miss me? Heh, Aquatica was pretty fun. Still, I'm glad to be back. The sunburn wasn't really worth it though. Alright, here we go.**

**Libby POV**

The next day, we hold a funeral for Dale. Daryl stands close to me, not touching close, but close enough to reach out to me, if he thinks I need it. I keep my cool though, I'm not really one for breaking down in tears in front of other people.

…Except for Daryl. But that's different. I'm not sure how, but it just is.

"Dale said that this group is broken." I hear Rick say as I pull myself out of my own thoughts. "We're going to prove him wrong." After Dale's service ends, everyone goes off to do their own things. I start heading to the stables, but Lori stops me.

"Hey." She says awkwardly. "Can you do me a favor?" I nod. "I was kind of hoping… well, Carl needs something to help keep his mind off of things, and…"

I examine her a second. "You don't need to be afraid to ask me something." I tell her.

"Right." She says nodding a little. "I was wondering if you'd mind giving him guitar lessons."

"Oh." I say, not expecting it. "Well, I guess I can give it a shot."

"Great." She says, smiling. "Would you mind…?" She trails off. She wants me to start now, I figure.

"Sure." I say, and she leads me over to Carl, and walks off. "Uh, hey." I say.

"Hey." He says. His knees are drawn up to his chest and he's just kind of staring at nothing.

"Your mom… said you wanted guitar lessons?" I ask.

"She said I should get something to take my mind off of things. Not that I wanted guitar lessons." He tells me. "You don't have to, Libby, I know you don't like people."

I look at him for a second. "It couldn't hurt to try." I say, sitting next to him.

"I don't even like guitars all that much." He says, picking up a stick and drawing little designs in the dirt. I watch him work.

"Do you, ah…" I trail off, feeling awkward as fuck around the young boy. "Do you like drawing?"

"I guess." He says, shrugging. Alright, then, there's something. I shrug my backpack off, and look through it, grabbing my sketchbook. He eyes it suspiciously. "Is that one of your science notebooks? Because I really don't like science." He says.

"No, it's a sketchbook." I tell him. "I like drawing, too."

He sits up a little, interested. "What do you draw?" He asks.

"People, scenes, things like that." I say.

"What kind of scenes?" he asks. I think for a second.

"Scenes that have an effect on me." I say finally, and look down at the notebook. "Your mom will kill me if I show you this stuff, so let's not tell her I did." Now he's really interested.

"Okay." He says, nodding. "Can I see it?"

"Sure." I say handing it to him. He opens to the first page, and doesn't move past it for a long while. River, right.

"Is this your little sister?" He asks, and all I can do is nod. "She was in an accident, right?"

"Yeah." I say quietly. He flip to the next page, it's more of an innocent drawing. Just Aya and Harry playing poker.

"Is this you or Aya?" He asks.

"Aya." I tell him.

"Why aren't you playing with them?"

I'm quiet for a few seconds. "I wasn't exactly… People didn't…" I try to say. "I don't know." I answer finally.

"Did they not like you?" He asks.

"Of course they liked me. I'm family." I say. "I was just… too quiet."

"That's not a reason to not include you." He says, and I'm quiet as he flips through the rest of the drawings. He finally closes the book and hands it to me. I grab a blank piece of paper and a pencil, and start teaching him to draw. I gotta say, he's not half bad. We finish, and I grin at the results.

"That's great." I tell him. He drew Lori. "You're good at this."

"Thanks." He says, looking at it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." I say.

"Why are you… well, trying to help me?" He asks. I'm quiet for a couple of seconds, searching for an answer myself.

"Because we're family." I say finally. "Everyone here is my family, and I'm gonna help them when they need it."

He nods, and Rick walks up. "You mind if I steal him for a few minutes?" He asks.

"He's all yours." I tell him, and Carl gets up, taking the drawing of Lori with him. The two of them walk towards the barn, and I smile. It's a small smile, but still, a smile. Better than nothing.

**Daryl POV**

Rick and I get ready to take Randall to a nearby town, and T-Dog goes to get him for us. He returns a few minutes later, though, without him. "He's not in the barn." He tells us, and we run over to the barn. There's no trace of Randall anywhere, but Shane comes in, beaten and bloody.

"He broke out, and beat me with a rock." He tells us. "Knocked me out." Rick paces, running his fingers through his hair.

"Get everyone in the house, and get Libby and Glenn. We gotta go looking for him." He says finally. "He could go to find his group." We walk back to the house, gathering everyone. "Randall escaped. We're going to go looking for him." He tells them, and then looks at Libby and Glenn, who nod. "Libby, Glenn, Daryl, Shane and I are gonna go out. Stay in the house and keep the door locked. Hopefully, we'll be back with him soon." He grabs the bag of guns and starts handing us weapons. He gets to Libby, and hesitates. "If I give you a gun, you probably won't use it, will you?" He asks.

"Not at all." She says, and he digs deep into the bag, and pulls out a hand axe.

"This might at least be a little better than your knife." He says, handing it to her. She examines it, weighing it in her hands, then nods, sticking it in her belt. We head out, splitting into two little groups, one consisting of Libby, Glenn and I and the other with Shane and Rick.

"Why don't you use guns?" Glenn asks Libby eventually. "Do you, like, not know how to use them?"

"I know how to use them." She says. "I just don't like them."

"Still, though, guns are probably a lot better than that." He tells her, pointing to the hand axe. She shrugs, and that basically ends the conversation. I gesture for them to stop, and kneel down over some footprints.

"They were walking together, Shane wasn't chasing him." I say.

"Are we sure it's them?" Glenn asks.

"Gotta be. C'mon, let's follow the trail." I say, standing once more. We follow it, until I see signs of a struggle. Looks like they had a fight, and the depression on the ground tells me one of them fell unconscious. But, there's also something else. "That's not right." I mutter.

"What is it?" Libby asks, standing beside me. I point to another trail.

"They fought, and one of them passed out, probably Randall. But after it, the other one, Shane, most likely, ran into this tree a few times." I pause. "Making it look like he got beat up."

She's quiet for a few seconds. "He's with Ri-" She tries to start.

"Libby!" Glenn exclaims, and she turns quickly, just in time to be tackled by a walker. She falls to the ground, and I hear a sickening _thud,_ the sound of her hitting her head on something hard. I shoot it with my crossbow and pull it off of her quickly, kneeling over her.

"Are you okay?!" I ask worriedly. She's taking short and shaky breaths, and doesn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Randall." She says finally.

"What?" I ask. "Sit up, lemme see your head."

"The walker, Daryl." She tells me, not moving. "It's Randall. Help me up." I grab her hands and pull her up into a sitting position. Glenn's been standing behind us in shock this entire time.

"I-I should've-" He tries to say.

"It's fine Glenn, really." Libby says. "Just hit my head, no big deal." I stand, and she turns to Randall's body. I see a large, bloody rock where her head had just been. Of course she falls on _that_.

"Your head's bleeding." I tell her, and she touches the back of her head lightly, looking at her hand and seeing the blood.

"Use your sweatshirt." Glenn suggests, and she looks down at it hesitantly. "Unless you're not wearing anything underneath it. Then don't use that." He says quickly.

"No, I'm wearing something underneath it." She says. "But…"

"But what?" I ask.

"It's my last one." She says sheepishly, and I roll my eyes.

"Just use it." I tell her, and she sighs, taking it off and holding it to the back off her head, pushing down on it lightly. She turns back to Randall, and examines his body.

"That's weird…" She mutters.

"What's wrong?" Glenn asks.

"Cause of death was a broken neck, not a bite." She tells us, standing. She stumbles a little, and I grab her arm, steadying her. She looks at the sweatshirt, it's soaked in her blood. She puts it back on her head quickly.

"Wait, no bite?" Glenn asks. "That's impossible, though."

"Well, there isn't a bite." She says, furrowing her brow. "He either ingested walker blood, or…" She trails off. "I need to think on this."

"You can think later." I tell her. "Let's get back to camp. Your head isn't doing too good."

"It _is_ a bigger wound than I thought." She admits. We start walking, and she stumbles again.

"For the love of God, just use my shoulder." I tell her, and she wraps an arm around my shoulders, leaning on me. We start walking back to the house again.

…

When we make it back, I'm half carrying her. She's lost a lot of blood, and Maggie lets us in. "Oh my God, what happened?" She asks.

"Fell and hit her head on a rock." Glenn tells her, and I help Libby to the couch, sitting her down. Herschel sits next to her, and examines her head.

"That's a pretty bad wound." He tells her. Beth brings him the things he needs to fix it up, and he starts tending to it.

"So, did you guys find anything?" Andrea asks, and Glenn and I look at Libby.

"Randall was a walker." I tell her, not adding in the part about the broken neck. I'll give Libby some time to try and figure out what happened. Libby glances around.

"Where's Carl?" She asks quietly. Lori looks around frantically.

"I-I don't know." She says finally. "He might've gone out to the barn, he usually hides out there." I sniff the air, and smell the familiar scent of the undead. Herschel finishes stitching up Libby's head, and she grabs her hand axe, instinctively.

"You smell it too?" I ask her, and she nods.

"Smell what?" Glenn asks, sniffing. "Oh." I walk out the door, and see a massive heard of walkers heading towards the house. Everyone joins me, and at the sight of the herd, Patricia goes back inside to turn off all of the lights. Lori is panicking.

"Carl is still out there." She says.

"I can-" Libby tries to start.

"Hell no." I tell her. "I'll go look for him."

"But-" She tries once more.

"Daryl's right." Herschel says. "You're in no shape to go into all of that." She pouts a little, crossing her arms. Before she can argue any further, I head out to look for Carl.

**Libby POV**

"So, we can't just hide in the house and wait for them to pass?" Glenn asks after Daryl walks off.

"Herd that size might knock the house over." I say. "I don't think we can stay here much longer."

"You can go if you want." Herschel says stubbornly. I look at him skeptically.

"What, you're going to take them all on?" I ask.

"We have guns. We have cars." He says. Andrea nods slowly.

"Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." She says.

"Seriously?" I ask.

"This is my farm. I'll die here." He tells me, gritting his teeth. I sigh.

"Alright then." I say, nodding a little, pulling my hand axe off of my belt.

"Wait, so we're really doing this?" Glenn asks. "How?"

"How Andrea said." I say, nodding to her. "We got plenty of guns and ammo. We can split into groups and meet up at the cars." Everyone nods, and looks at me to continue. I feel a small sense of panic take me over, they want me to tell them what to do. _Lead_ them. Have they never met me? I guess I kind of walked into this one, but still.

"Where will we lead them to?" Maggie asks.

"Anywhere but here." I tell her, looking towards the walkers. We split into groups, I'm with Glenn and Maggie, as usual. "Alright, we got a plan." I tell everyone. "Let's get going." Andrea tosses me the bag of guns. Augh, I have to do this too? I pass the guns and ammunition around, and we all head out.

"Are you seriously not taking a gun?" Glenn asks me.

"Nope." I say, taking my hand axe out of my belt. "I got this and my knife. I should be good." We approach the large herd, and I whistle, drawing some of their attention. Glenn and Maggie start shooting, and I get right into the mess of it, splitting skulls left and right. Whenever it feels a little too close for comfort, I run back towards Maggie and Glenn. It's a good little maneuver.

Until I mess it the fuck up.

Idiotically, I get myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or, more specifically, a herd of walkers and a burning barn. Maggie and Glenn are running out of bullets.

"Libby!" Maggie calls out. "We have to get to the cars!"

I panic a little. "Get over there. Wait ten minutes, and if I'm not there, get out of here!" I call back.

"That's insane, you'll get yourself killed!" Glenn exclaims.

"But it'll keep you guys alive. Go!" I yell, and they run off. "Time to get myself out of this." I mutter as they close in even more. I still feel weakened from blood loss, and this whole herd thing isn't doing too much good for that. I see a little opening in the throng of walkers, and take that as my opportunity. I run towards it, dodging the walkers when I can, and killing them when I can't. I make it out of the mess just as the farm collapses in on itself. The sudden burst of heat and smoke has me coughing, and I just start running. It's been over ten minutes, I think. I'm on my own on this one.

**Daryl POV**

I get to my motorcycle, and leave. I see Carol getting cornered by walkers, though, and ride up to her. "C'mon. I don't have all day." I tell her, and she climbs on behind me, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I ride away from the mess of walkers right as the burning barn collapses in on itself. Dread takes me over, but I wave it off. Libby probably got out of here with the rest of them, there's nothing to worry about.

…

"Where are Libby and Andrea?" Carol asks. The dread that had been hanging in the background makes itself known, and I feel a little sick.

"Libby…" Glenn starts. "She was caught in between the herd and the barn. She told us to get back to the car, and wait ten minutes." He pauses. "And then the barn collapsed."

They start talking about what happened to Andrea, but I can't focus. Libby can't just be _dead_. "I can go look for them." I offer suddenly, but Rick shakes his head.

"They're either far away from the barn or dead." He says. "We can't risk it." I cross my arms, but say nothing. She's not dead. We'll find her.

We have to.

**Libby POV**

I stumble through the dark woods, with walkers trailing me. I have a bite on my arm, and the damned monster really sunk his teeth into it. I think the muscle is torn, and the blood factor isn't doing my health much good. And it makes me easier to find.

"Whoa there!" I hear someone say, as he grabs my good arm. I try to fight his grip.

"Let me go!" I growl. I'm just sick and tired of this shit.

"I ain't gonna hurt you, princess." He says, and I focus my vision, looking at him.

"M-Merle?" I ask quietly. The walkers start closing in.

"We'll have time for small talk later, c'mon." He says, and starts dragging me through the woods. I don't have much choice but to go with him, so I pick up my pace. He's Daryl's brother, he won't hurt me, right?

We make it to a road, and get in a car. I finally notice his arm, he's missing a hand. In its place is a pretty lethal looking knife, if I can even call it that. It's more of a sharpened piece of metal. He notices me staring at it. "Ain't it pretty?" He asks, and chuckles. "I had to cut my hand off on that roof in Atlanta. Got myself a nice replacement."

"So you know who I am?" I ask quietly. He nods.

"Oh, yeah, I know you." He says. "Well, you're familiar, to say the least. I don't really know your name."

"Libby." I tell him, putting my head back on the headrest and holding my bleeding arm.

"Right." He says, starting the car and driving. "Your arm's a little beat up there, isn't it? What happened?"

"Bitten." I say, and he looks over at me.

"Well, you seem pretty calm about it." He says, and looks back at the road.

"Immune." I say, and he stops the car, and turns to me.

"You better not be bullshitting me, or I'll kick you out of the car." He says.

"Do I look at the type to bullshit?" I ask him, and he examines me for a moment. He turns back to the road and starts driving again. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"Been staying at a little community." He says. "Figure it's better than being on my own, ya know what I mean?" I nod a little. "Listen, you know where my little brother is? Someone's gotta watch his ass."

"Not at the moment, no." I tell him. "We've been staying at this farm, and then this gigantic herd just rolls through. I got separated."

He nods. "Officer Friendly still around?" He asks.

"Yeah. They went back for you, you know." I say.

"Wouldn't have had to if they hadn't dropped the key." He mutters.

"Yeah, but now you got that pretty little replacement." I tell him, and he laughs. We pull up to some gates, and they let us through.

"Welcome to Woodbury. The Governor's gonna want to meet you." He says.

"I'm dreading it already." I tell him honestly, and he laughs once more.

"Yeah, you don't seem like much of a 'people person'." He says. "You'll warm up to him, though."

"As long as he can help me find my group, then I'm sure we'll get along just fine." I say, and we get out of the car. Not many people are around, those who are seem to be guards. We go up to a building, and Merle leads me inside. There are two men sitting at a table.

"Merle, who's your… guest?" The one with glasses asks.

"This is Libby." Merle says, pointing at me with his thumb. "She's from my old group."

"The one that left you for dead?" The other one asks.

"She wasn't involved." Merle says. The man stands, offering me his hand. I shake it.

"I'm the Governor." He says. "This is my advisor, Milton Mamet." He looks at the bite on my arm. "That's quite the injury you've got there. How'd it happen?"

"Bitten." I tell him, and he looks at Merle, who raises his hand and his stump in defense.

"She says she's immune." He tells him. Milton examines me.

"Prove it." He says, and I pull back the shoulder of my t-shirt, revealing my first bite.

"I've got another on the back of my leg if you aren't convinced." I say. "'Immune' isn't exactly the right word for it. My white blood cells have built a strong resistance to the virus."

"Interesting…" He mutters. "May I take a blood sample?" He asks.

"Milton, let's give the girl a minute." The Governor says. "She's still wounded, it needs treatment." He turns to me. "Why don't we get you to Dr. Stevens, and we can talk it over in the morning. And we can talk about finding your group, too."

"Sounds good." I say, nodding a little. Merle leads me out of the building.

…

I wake up in the middle of the night, shaking. Where am I? I look around, and realize where I am. Woodbury. I'm sleeping on a comfortable bed, in an _air conditioned _room, and I still don't feel safe. I had another nightmare, and now no one's here to comfort me. Do they think I'm dead? Missing? A lost cause? I don't think any of them would give up that easily, but still. It's tearing me apart, who knows how the others are doing. How Daryl is doing.

They gave me an apartment the night prior, after Dr. Stevens treated my arm. I get up, and go in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. No way I'm getting back to sleep now, might as well start my day. I see my backpack resting on the counter, where I left it. I open it up while waiting for my coffee, and spot my bloody sweatshirt from the day prior. That seems like such a long time ago.

This whole place has a CDC feel to it, too good to be true. There's gotta be something off about it, _something_. I just can't figure it out yet.

I just have to find Dar- the group, and everything will be okay.

**Author's Note- I had huge difficulties writing this, so it's probably not going to read very smoothly, until you get to the Woodbury part, at least. Ah well, everyone has their faults. Mine is the inability to remember what fucking happened in the show and having to use wikis. Hope you enjoyed it anyways!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note-** **Hello, my fanciful, humorous, scholarly, charming, beautiful, neat, nimble, skillful, dainty, agile, adroit, elegant, wise, intelligent, talented, ingenious, gifted, cunning, clever, confident, capable,**

***deep breath***

**reasonable, sensible, witty, honorable, upright, trustworthy, pure, Godlike, jolly, polite, civil, sociable, kindly, strong-willed, natural, silly, fucking amazing**

***deep breath***

**little angels!**

**I think that's a damn good starter note, let's get going with this chapter!**

**Libby POV**

After sitting in my kitchen for hours, someone knocks on my door. I get up from my chair and answer it. Milton's standing there. "Am I allowed to take a blood sample now?" He asks. I nod, and we head down to his little lab area. I hold out my arm, and he draws some blood, then hands me a bandage. He goes to test it, and I leave, not seeing much else for me to do there. I could fess up and tell him I'm a doctor, but I don't really feel like working. I'm walking back to my apartment, and see Merle and the Governor at the door.

"Oh, we were just looking for you." The Governor says.

"Blood tests." I explain, and he nods.

"C'mon, you can join us for breakfast." Merle says, and I follow them through the streets. Everyone we pass looks at me, interested. I put my head down and keep walking.

"You're going to be getting a lot of that once we tell them about your situation." The Governor tells me.

"Do we have to tell them?" I mutter.

"Libby isn't much of a people person." Merle explains, and the Governor nods.

"Well, we're going to have to tell them eventually. It's good news, and we could always use some of that." He says. We go into a building, and sit at a table after getting some food. I feel so out of place with all of these eyes on me. "So, this farm where your group was staying." The Governor begins. "Could you point it out on a map?"

"I think I could." I tell him. "Not sure how close everyone will be to it, or if they're even together."

"Aya?" I hear someone ask. "Wait, no, short hair and glasses. Libby!" I look over to the source of the voice.

"…Harry?" I ask slowly. "I-I thought you…" He walks up to us.

"You two know each other?" Merle asks.

"My uncle." I tell him. Harry hugs me.

"How's Aya?" He asks. "Have you seen her?"

"Oh…" I trail off. "Aya, she was, ah… she died." He's quiet, but nods slowly. "I tried Harry. I really did. But there was no way I could…"

"I understand." He says. "At least you're safe." He has black, messy hair, with wisps of gray in it. He's got blue eyes that are always full of mischief, and weather-beaten skin. He notices the bite on my arm, and his eyes widen in shock. "Lib, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you're bitten…"

"I didn't notice." I say, with a hint of sarcasm.

"She's immune." The Governor says.

"Oh." Harry says, still shocked. He sits down, joining us, and we (they) start talking about my immunity.

…

**EIGHT OR NINE (?) MONTHS LATER (I'm bad with time lapses, just so ya know)**

…

"You don't need to carry that thing around all of the time, you know." Milton says, gesturing to the hand axe on my belt. I just shrug. "Your uncle told me you usually have a knife in your boot, too. Is that true?" He asks, and I nod. "You really freak people out, you know." Good. I don't say anything, and we continue working. We haven't made that much progress, he's still hell bent on the idea that the person is still alive, no matter how hard I try to convince him. I really don't try all that hard, though. He'll come to his senses eventually.

"A couple of girls got here last night." He says casually, trying to strike up a conversation as always. "Merle knows one of them, thought you would too."

"Name?" I ask simply.

"Something with an A." He says, thinking. I feel hope and excitement fill me.

"Andrea?" I ask.

"Yeah, that was it." He says, and I put down the research I had been paging through.

"Can I…?" I trail off.

"Go ahead." He says, waving me off, and I walk out of the building. Maybe Andrea knows where the others are. We had looked, but couldn't find a single sign of them. I walk into an old office building, hoping I might find them. All I find though is Merle and Harry, playing a game of poker. Gee, they're working pretty hard.

"Is it true?" I ask, sitting at the table.

"Yep." Merle says, barely glancing up from his set of cards. "I didn't tell her you were here yet, thought I'd keep it a surprise. Someone's giving her and her friend a tour, you'll probably find them around here somewhere." Her friend. It could be someone Merle never met, like Maggie or Beth or Patricia.

"Her friend have a name?" I ask.

"Yeah." He says. "Michonne, I think." Oh. Damn. I nod, and leave the building. I walk around, looking for Andrea and Michonne, and come across them walking down the street, back turned to me. I could scare the shit out of her if I wanted to. Good thing I'm not Aya. I walk up to them.

"Andrea!" I exclaim, and she turns quickly.

"Libby?" She asks, confused. But, her face brightens up quickly, and she hugs me. Their tour guide looks a little confused and uncomfortable, I think everyone in this town believes that I'm mute or something. "Have you seen anyone else from the group?" Andrea asks me.

"I was hoping you had." I tell her. "You were separated too?"

"Yeah." She says. "Who's to say we weren't all separated?"

"Let's hope that didn't happen." I say, and she nods.

"Oh, this is Michonne!" She says, gesturing to her friend. She's eyeing my hand axe.

"You were allowed to keep your weapons?" She asks.

"I'm kind of prioritized." I tell her. "They're searching for a cure, and, well, I'm immune." She nods, not fazed at all by it.

"Join us?" Andrea asks, and I nod, walking with them.

…

I join the two girls for dinner that night, away from everyone else. It's just so… liberating, for lack of better word. I feel more shy than usual around everyone here, especially when Harry's present. I feel so much more comfortable with them, I feel like I had when we were all still at the Greene farm. I hadn't even realized how much better I felt around the group until they were gone.

"You look so tired." Andrea comments.

"I… don't sleep very much." I tell her. "Nightmares."

"They started once you got separated?" She asks, interested.

"No. I'd been having them for a few days before." I tell her.

"Well, you didn't look all that tired at the farm." She says.

"Daryl would hear me crying from his tent and wake me up." I say quietly.

"Oh." She says, and we all pay attention to our food for a while. "Were you two… a thing?" She asks, and I laugh a little.

"You sound like a teenager." I tell her. "No, we weren't. He'd just wake me up from my nightmares. Nothing else." Except for when he'd hold me in his arms… that was nice. Not gonna go telling Andrea that, though, she'll get all sympathetic on me.

She finally notices the bite on her arm. I'd been wearing a sweatshirt most of the day, so that's understandable. Heh, I finally got all of my blood out of the one from the night we found Randall. "Jesus, how many times have you been bitten?" She asks.

"Only three." I say defensively.

"_Only_." She says, chuckling a little. "Is there anything new with you? I mean, other than your hair." I touch it.

"It's only gotten a little longer." I say, pouting a little.

"It's to your shoulders. It was like an inch below your chin when I last saw you." She says.

"Yeah, I have an issue with that. My hair grows too fast." I say, shrugging. "Well, my uncle's here."

"Oh, that's good!" She exclaims.

"Yeah, it's super." I mutter.

"Why do you seem so down about it? Didn't he raise you or something?" She asks.

"I raised myself." I tell her. "He was just there. We never really talked, except for when he confused me for Aya."

"Oh." She says. "I don't see what this big fuss was about your sister. No offense, but she was kind of annoying."

"Extremely." I correct her. "But, I loved her. Family, y'know?" She nods, and we all finish eating. Michonne's even quieter than I usually am, but she doesn't seem to have an issue with me. We all say goodnight, and they leave my apartment. I try distracting myself for a while, but I feel the sleepiness set in. I sigh, and get into bed. Maybe I won't have a nightmare tonight.

_"Just try to think about different things before you sleep, instead of dreading the kid." Daryl says._

Alright, I guess I can try that. What to think about, though? There were those drawing lessons with Carl. Or, only one, really. It's kind of sad that things happened how they happened, those drawing lessons really were fun. He had a lot of potential.

_"I know you're awake." Daryl tells me, sitting cross legged before me_

_"I didn't have a nightmare. I'm fine." He doesn't move, though, and I sit up. "What do you want?" I ask irritably, grabbing my glasses and putting them on. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, as if to say something. He looks so absolutely flustered, like that was the one thing he was wishing I wouldn't ask._

_"I don't know." He says finally. "I just… I just don't like it when you're upset." _

Yeah, and then there's Glenn always trying to keep his little thing with Maggie a secret. Everyone knew, and it was pretty funny, actually.

_"You slept pretty well when…" He trails off. Right. I slept like a fucking rock when I fell asleep in his arms. I bite my bottom lip, still looking down. I can feel him kind of tense up, like he's regretting bringing it up._

…And, and then there's… there's, there's um…

_I crawl into his lap, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck and resting my head in the crook of his neck. I feel him hesitating, but he wraps his arms around me, rubbing my back lightly. I let out a content sigh, involuntarily, and I feel him relax just a little more. I don't mean for it to happen, but I feel myself falling asleep. He just keeps rubbing my back, and I drift off to sleep._

I sigh, feeling the ghost of the warm feeling I felt then. I miss that, it's so odd. It was just a simple thing, just a hug, really, but… it was just solid. Like it wouldn't go away, ever. He could be dead now, for all I know. I wrap my blanket around me even more, feeling colder now that the memory is gone. I close my eyes, and eventually drift off to sleep.

…

I wake up, in a cold sweat. So much for thinking of different things. It was the same little boy, with his new set of horrors. I sit up, wrapping the blanket around me like a cocoon, with just my head sticking out. It must've been a silly sight, but it made me feel a little better. I look down, holding back tears. C'mon, Libby, it's the same thing every time. Nothing to cry over. The tears roll down my cheeks anyways, and I just can't hold it back. I sob into my pillow.

**Daryl POV**

I lie in bed awake, like I do every night, feeling the same pain in my chest. If she's alive, she could be having a nightmare. She could be crying.

She could need me.

That's only an 'if', though. If she's alive. The most likely thing is that she isn't, and I just need to man the fuck up and deal with it. All I'd ever do is comfort her when she had nightmares, and that's it.

I wonder if her head injury affected how long she lived at all. I mean, she may not be dead, but still. She lost a lot of blood, and Glenn said she was right next to the farm when it collapsed… I still don't think _that's _what got her. It couldn't be.

I just wish I knew. Some sort of sense of closure, and I'd be alright. At least, I think I would be.

**Libby POV**

We all gather for breakfast the next day. Harry, Andrea, Michonne, the Governor, Merle, Milton and I. Man, you could reach out and touch the awkward.

"How do you think Lori's doing?" Andrea asks me.

I shrug. "Could give birth any day now, if she hasn't already." I say quietly. Harry looks at me.

"Who's Lori?" He asks.

"A woman from our group." Merle answers for me. "She got knocked up?" He asks.

"Yeah." Andrea says. "Put Glenn, Libby and Maggie through hell, getting stuff for her."

"You were an errand girl?" Harry asks me. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Gee, thanks." I mutter, staring down at my plate as always. We all finish eating, and I start to head down to the lab. Michonne grabs my arm, though, and pulls me to the side. "Yeah?" I ask.

"What's the deal with this place?" She asks, voice low. I sigh a little.

"I've been trying to figure that out ever since I got here." I tell her. "They're very apprehensive of me though. Always someone watching me."

She nods. "Andrea and I are going to be leaving soon. You should try coming with us." She says.

"What about Harry?" I ask nervously.

"He doesn't seem to respect you very much." She says.

"Even so, we're working on a cure here." I tell her. "I can't just pass that up."

"Alright." She says, nodding a little. "I understand that." That basically ends our conversation, so I continue heading down to the lab.

**Daryl POV**

**(A/N- Mkay, so Lil Ass Kicker's here, Lori ain't, Rick's gone cray-cray, and we're at that little daycare place with Daryl and Maggie. You are caught up now.)**

We walk through the dim building silently, looking for baby formula. Maggie's being awfully quiet.

"I wonder where Libby is." She says finally. I glance over at her.

"Dead, most likely." I tell her.

"Don't say that." She scolds me. "She could've made it off of the farm. Hell, she could be still looking for us."

"Well that wouldn't be fair, because no one here even fucking tried looking for her." I say, voice sour.

"It wouldn't have been safe. You know that." She says.

"Whatever." I say, trying to finish the conversation. She doesn't take the hint, though.

"I just don't think she'd die _that _easily." She says. "She's been bitten twice, she got that head injury, and she always risked her life going scavenging for the group. Doesn't seem like a way for her to go."

"She was right next to the barn. You saw her yourself." I say, getting annoyed. "She's dead."

"There is no way you actually believe that." She says, as we enter a room. There's a large ruckus coming from a cabinet, and she goes to open it while I aim my crossbow at it. She flings it open, and I shoot what was inside. A possum.

"Well I do." I lie, and pick up the rodent. "Dinner." I tell her, and she rolls her eyes.

"I am not putting that in my bag." She says, going through cupboards and grabbing everything we need for Lil Ass Kicker. "And, you know, I don't care what you say. I still think she's alive, somewhere."

"Whoop-de-fucking-do." I mutter, and we leave the building.

**Libby POV**

After sitting through the little 'walker fights', I head back to my apartment. Ever since Andrea mentioned it this morning, I can't stop thinking about Lori and her baby. I know Herschel could've handled it if it came down to it, but I feel guilty for not being there. Is it a boy or a girl? Did she have a miscarriage? God, I want to know so badly. I just miss everything about the group, even if it was a little dysfunctional. Hell, what isn't dysfunctional nowadays?

I should be _happy _that Andrea's here, but it just makes me a feel a little worse. Don't get me wrong, seeing that she's here and alive is amazing, and she's my friend, but… it just gives me a sense of doubt. If we were separated, who's to say the others weren't?

Anywhere but here. _Anywhere but here._ I regret those words so much. I could've said _meet up at the highway_, or _head west_, anything that wasn't as vague as what I did say. I might've been able to find everyone so much easier. I wouldn't have all of this regret. Now, I'll probably never see any of them ever again.

Whatever, you're an adult, Libby, so man up and deal with it. You'll survive. You'll find a cure. You'll put an end to all of this mess.

And then what, though?

Life won't be returning to normal anytime soon, even if I do find a cure. I can't just go back to working at a hospital, that would just feel so unnatural to me. Funny, the hospital used to be the only place I felt comfortable at. Now, though, I don't feel comfortable anywhere but outside. Not outside, in the community. Outside the walls. I can always just slip out my back window, there's a wall there, but there's a tiny crack, just big enough for me to fit through. I go there from time to time, in the dead of the night, when the guard is taking his little 'power nap'.

I walk through my apartment, glancing towards my bedroom. Not tonight, sorry sleep. I sit in my living room with a book, and read for a while. I hear someone knocking on my door. That's a little weird, I don't really get guests. I put my book down, and get up, answering the door. It's my next door neighbor, Donna. She's grinning like an idiot.

"Hey Libby!" She says, voice cheery like always. "Our dog just had a litter of puppies. We thought you might like one!" Donna's one of the only people that isn't scared of me, and I kind of appreciate it.

I smile a little. "I might just have to take you up on that." I tell her.

"Great! Come on over!" She says, and starts walking away. I follow her out the door, shutting it behind me. We go in her apartment, where her husband and young daughter are adoring the little pups lying on a blanket. Her daughter, Fay, I think, waves at me vigorously, and I smile, waving back.

"Oh, good, you want one." Donna's husband, George says. "They're beagles. Born just a few hours ago."

"Beagles, huh?" I say, kneeling beside them.

"Are you a dog person or a cat person?" Little Fay asks, and I chuckle a little.

"Dog person. I'm allergic to cats." I tell her. I really have no problem with this family, they've always shown kindness to me, and Fay's just a sweet little girl. Ten years old, I think.

"Cats are kind of scary." She says, pursing her lips a little.

"Yeah, they are." I say. There's seven puppies lying on the blanket.

"We have a few other people that have been asking for them, but we thought we'd let you have first pick." Donna says. "Seems like you could use a little companion."

I nod, looking at all of the little guys. One catches my eye, he's black, brown, and white. He's got a little black circle around one of his eyes. Fay catches me looking at him.

"That one's a boy." She says. "Daddy checked." I laugh a little, and Donna picks up the puppy, handing him to me. I cradle him in my arms.

"You want that one?" She asks.

"Well now I'm attached." I say jokingly, and she laughs.

"You know, I don't know why everyone gives you such a hard time." She says. "You got a good heart, you're just a little quiet." I stay quiet, not sure how to respond. Fay picks it up, though.

"Can I name him?" She asks me eagerly.

"Sure." I tell her, and she purses her lips again, deep in thought.

"Cody!" She exclaims finally, and the puppy lets out a little yap.

"Well he sure likes it." I say happily. "Cody's a great name." She grins, glowing with pride. I look at the puppy. Cody, huh? Yeah, it is a good name. We sit around talking for a little while, then I head back to my apartment.

**Author's Note- DOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDO GDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGD OGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOG DOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDO GDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOGDOG**

**I like doggies **


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note- Heyo!**

**So yeah, my computer tried to commit suicide the other day, and though I talked it out of it, a lot of the chapters I had written got deleted. And I'm very, very, very, VERY upset about that. But whatever, let's keep going. *eye twitch***

**Libby POV**

The next day, I go down to breakfast after I feed Cody. I bring him with me, because you can't really leave puppies alone. They're like babies. I sit at a table with Andrea, Milton, and the Governor, and they all look at me skeptically.

"I… got a puppy…" I mutter, pretty positive I sound like a little girl. "Where's Harry?"

"He and Merle are out scavenging." Milton says casually. We all eat breakfast, and then I head down to the lab with him. He eyes Cody. "You really need to bring the dog?" He asks.

"You can't leave a puppy alone." I tell him, setting Cody down on the counter. We start working silently.

…

I'm reading in my living room late at night, with Cody sleeping in my lap. I hear gunshots coming from outside, and roll my eyes a little. Probably just a few walkers. They should learn to kill them quietly. The gunshots don't stop, though, and I start to get worried. Maybe it isn't walkers. I put my book down and pick Cody up, lightly setting him down on the blanket next to me. I walk to my front door and open it up, running right into Milton.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Nothing to be worried about." He says. "Philip sent me to make sure no one leaves their apartments."

"Whatever it is, I can help." I tell him.

"Sorry, but you really shouldn't leave your puppy alone." He says, smirking.

"I… goddammit." I mutter. "I'll stay put."

"Good." He says, nodding. I close the door, and head back to the living room. Cody's sitting up, watching me with his big eyes.

"It's nothing to be worried about." I say, shrugging and sitting back down. He crawls back in my lap, and I go back to reading.

…

I hear knocking on my door, once all of the gunshots have cooled down. I pick up Cody and go to answer it, it's Andrea. "Hey, there's some kind of impromptu town meeting at the arena." She says.

"Oh, okay." I say, and glance back at Cody.

"It shouldn't take too long, I'm sure he'll be fine." She says, smiling a little. I nod, and follow her out the door. We get to the arena, and sit down in the front row. Everyone seems to be in a heated mood.

"Did I miss something?" I whisper over to Andrea.

"There was a raid. Bunch of people came through, shooting everything up." She tells me, and I nod. The Governor walks to the center of the ring, putting a hand up for silence. Once everyone's quiet, he starts his little speech

"I failed you." He says. "I promised to keep you safe. Hell, look at me... I'm afraid! I'm afraid of terrorists who want what we have! Worse, one of those terrorists is one of our own." He gestures to Merle, who's sitting right next to me. "He led them here! He let them in!" He says to the crowd itself, and then directs his attention to Merle himself. "You betrayed us all." Some armed men come and take Merle into the ring, along with a man with a bag over his head. The Governor pulls it off, and I take in a sharp breath. "Merle's own brother!" He tells the crowd, now yelling. Everyone is screaming, with a bloodlust, except for Andrea and I. We're just watching the pair with wide eyes.

Daryl's glaring around at the crowd, until his eyes land on me. We stare at one another, each with our own look of horror on our faces. The Governor notices the exchange. "I cannot imagine how betrayed you two must feel." He says sympathetically to Andrea and I. "He knew fully well that you were both here!" He pauses for dramatic effect. "And yet he still came, even with the risk of you two getting hurt, or, God forbid, _killed _in the process."

He knew I was here? I feel my heart drop into the pit of my stomach, and it must show on my face. Daryl tries to approach me, only to be held back by the guards. "Libby…" He trails off, and I look down.

"You can't do this!" Andrea exclaims, standing and walking out into the ring. I hesitate, but follow her.

"Let them go." I say quietly.

"You two can't be serious." The Governor says. "They betrayed you!" I glance back at Daryl and Merle. Daryl's watching me, with a sad look in his eyes.

"I don't care." I say, turning back to the Governor. "They're… family. And you don't let family down."

"Merle needs to prove his worth." He says sternly. "This can't be undone. Both of you, go sit back down." Andrea and I look at each other, and grudgingly return to our seats. I feel Daryl watching me, but I can't bring myself to meet his eyes. The Governor's a convincing man, I _do_ feel betrayed. After a few more words, the Governor has them start fighting, but I just can't watch. All I've wanted for _months _was to see him again. And now I can't look at him. I hear the two brothers grunt as they fight each other and the walkers surrounding them.

All of a sudden, all I can see is smoke. They are gunshots all around me, and people screaming. As quickly as it started, though, it was over, and Merle and Daryl are gone. Andrea looks at me. "Are you-" She tries to say.

"I'm fine." I say sternly, and get up, barely paying attention to the wreckage before me. I walk back to my apartment, and hear Cody scratch at the door. I open it up, and scoop him into my arms. He licks my face as I walk into the living room, sitting on the couch.

He actually… was what the Governor said true? He's _known _where I am? If I had known where he was, or where anyone was, hell, even Shane, I would've come running. That's just completely disrespectful, and really just… _mean_. It's such a childish word for it, but it's all I can think of. And everyone else in the group, too? I cared for everyone there, I considered them my family. How could they not have even considered coming to get Andrea and I, if they knew where we were? This happens all too often. I'm left alone with a terrible thought going through my mind, I keep thinking about it, and it just gets worse and worse.

I honestly don't know why I expected Daryl to care at all. I mean, sure, he comforted me after a few nightmares…

_"I just… I just don't like it when you're upset."_

And there it is. Another sharp pang in my chest, unlike any kind of hurt I've felt before. I just feel so… confused. The Governor's words are conflicting with Daryl's actions. The desperate look he gave me as soon as he saw me, trying to approach me, trying to talk to me… it doesn't make any sense. He seemed shocked when he saw me, nothing at all like how he would have acted if he already knew I was here.

I don't even know anymore. All I know is my head – and chest – hurt so much it makes me want to cry. I need some fresh air. "Wanna go for a walk, buddy?" I ask Cody. I bet that guard isn't even at the wall right now, with all the commotion going on at the arena. I get up, with Cody in my arms, and go to the back window, sliding it open and slipping out. I squeeze between the crack in the wall, and run into the forest quickly. I set Cody down, and he walks alongside me, his wagging tail setting him off balance. He falls over sometimes, and it makes me smile a little.

We walk farther than I've ever strayed before, for hours it feels like, and the fresh air does do me some good. I can't shake the aching feeling, though. I must be miles away from Woodbury by now, but Cody seems to be loving it. At least one of us is benefitting from all of this.

I approach a road that leads to a bridge, and hear two familiar voices arguing. My breath catches in my throat as I realize who it is, Daryl and Merle. "You're getting soft, little brother. Spent too much time with Sheriff Rick and that girlfriend of yours." Merle says.

"She ain't my- you were going to steal from those people!" Daryl exclaims.

"Oh, so you're suddenly above stealing?" Merle laughs. "Ain't that ironic? Weren't we going to raid that camp the day we joined them? Only reason we didn't is because you fucking messed up!"

"I'm starting to regret leaving them for you." Daryl growls.

"You need me, little brother. I'm the only person that gives a damn whether you live or die. Not Rick. Not your girlfriend. Me." Merle tells him, and I hear a fight break out. It ends quickly, though, and they're both quiet. Goddammit, what happened? "You too?" Merle asks quietly.

"He needed someone else to beat on after you left." Daryl says. "I'm going back to the group. Join me, stay, whatever. I don't give a damn." I hear him start to walk away. "I may be the one walking away, but you're the one leaving. Again." He leaves, and I hear Merle start to follow him.

What were they… oh. The scars. I saw them when I was stitching Daryl up, but I figured it was none of my business. I start following them quietly.

**Daryl POV**

Merle stops me as we're walking. "Someone's following us." He says.

"You're hearing things." I tell him. I hear a dog yap, and look in the direction of it. "Or not." I mutter, lifting out my crossbow. "Whoever's there, come out." I order. Libby steps out from behind a tree, with a puppy at her side. I stare at her, shocked, and slowly lower my crossbow.

"I'm gonna walk ahead." Merle says, and walks off. Libby and I stare at each other.

"Uh, hi." She says finally. Now that it's daylight out, I can actually see her. Her hair's longer, and she's got another bite on her arm. I gesture to it.

"How'd that happen?" I ask.

"Escaping the farm." She says.

"I thought when the barn collapsed…" I trail off. "We all thought you died."

"So you didn't know I was at Woodbury?" She asks.

"No idea." I tell her, and she nods, biting her bottom lip like she always does when she's thinking. I don't even think she realizes she does it.

"Did you all realize why Randall turned without being bitten?" She asks.

"Yeah. Turns out, Rick already knew." I say, and she nods slowly. She doesn't seem that surprised.

"Oh! Speaking of Rick, how's Lori doing? You know, with her pregnancy." She says eagerly.

"She, uh, she had her baby. A girl." I tell her. "But she didn't…"

"Oh." She says, looking down. "Well, how's the baby?"

"Healthy." I say. "We named her Lil Ass Kicker."

She smirks. "Lil Ass Kicker?" She asks.

"Chose it myself." I tell her, and she laughs a little.

"Figures." She says, rolling her eyes. We stay quiet for a few minutes, watching each other.

"Are you… coming with us?" I ask finally. She glances back in the direction she came from.

"Yeah. I am." She says, nodding, and I feel a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. I hold it back, though.

"Then we should catch up to Merle before we lose him." I tell her.

"Would that really be a tragedy?" She asks. I roll my eyes and we start to catch up to him.

**(Angry) Author's Note- FUCK IT. THIS IS IT. ALL YOU'RE GETTING. FUCK MY WRITER'S BLOCK. I'M TAKING A BREAK FROM THIS STORY, AT LEAST FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. MY HEAD HURTS SO BAD. PLEASE FORGIVE ME I LOVE YOU.**

**I'll be back in a few days. Stay beautiful ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note- *deep breath* Hey, I'm back.**

**Okay, so first off-**

**I MISSED THE FUCK OUTTA YOU GUYS**

**Second off- **

**SCHOOL'S BACK IN SESSION. FUCK.**

**I got a really good creative writing class though, and it's awesome. The teacher's just so into everything, and that's what I admire in instructors. I swear to God, now I can recite the eight parts of speech forward and backwards and it's only been four days. And all of the infinitives of 'to be'. And all of the corresponding conjunctions. This woman is a miracle worker, I tell ya.**

**OKAY WE'RE ALL CAUGHT UP ON MY PERSONAL AFFAIRS LET'S GET THIS STORY GOIN' AGAIN!**

**Libby POV**

"What the hell's going on?" Daryl growls as we approach the prison the group's been staying at. We can hear gunshots ringing out, and the three of us break into a sprint towards the deafening noise. Daryl shoots a walker in the head just as it's about to chomp down on Rick. Without a word, he joins us in slaughtering the walkers.

As soon as the immediate threat is taken care of, we rush inside the fences. Merle is instantly taken and locked up in a cell. I kind of hang back, hiding behind Daryl, so it takes everyone a while to notice I'm there.

"Libby?" Glenn asks carefully, squinting at me as though I might not be real. Everyone looks at me quickly. Without any hesitation, Maggie runs up and hugs me tight. I hug her back, and others run up to hug me as well. I notice some people are missing, Shane, T-Dog and Lori. I glance around before saying anything, and notice Beth holding a baby. My heart sinks a little, as the awful truth hits me. Shane, well I can only hope someone blasted his brains out. My hate for him had been slowly accumulating during my absence. And T-Dog… I'll ask Maggie later, privately. No need to make a scene.

"Hi." I say finally, keeping my eyes locked on Cody, who's running around and sniffing everyone. Little guy's just as happy as I am.

"We can all catch up with Libby later." Herschel says, cutting the joyful moment short. "We have a little situation." He nods towards Merle, who looks pretty grumpy about being in captivity. Glenn starts arguing furiously with everyone, trying to get them to get rid of him. I step up timidly, and everyone looks at me.

"I'm not sure what happened, but he's not really of much harm right now." I tell Glenn calmly. "If he tries anything, well then you certainly have my permission to kick him to the curb." He opens his mouth, as if to argue, but shuts it.

"Thank ya, princess." Merle says sweetly. I ignore him.

"I just think we should be a little logical about this." I continue. "I don't know shit about the Governor's strategies. I didn't get involved in all that. Merle did, though. That could be useful."

"She's right." Herschel says, nodding. "Is there anyone against it?" No one speaks up. I'm a little confused as to why Rick isn't making any of the executive decisions, but I figure he's still torn up about Lori. After that's all figured out, everyone else returns to a sort of routine. Maggie pulls me to the side instantly.

"Hey." She says, grinning like an idiot.

"Hi." I say, smiling lightly. I notice Glenn eyeing us, well, Maggie in particular. "Fill me in." I order her, sitting down and readying myself to listen.

**Daryl POV**

Does Maggie have to hog her all of the damn time? They spend a few hours talking, and a glance in their direction every once in a while, waiting for them to finish up. When they do, though, little Maggie, otherwise known as Beth, takes her sisters place, handing Lil Asskicker to Libby. And they talk for about an hour. Well, maybe not talk. More like Libby listening to them ramble. By the time they finish, it's time for dinner. She sits next to me, though, and I nod to her casually. She nods back, but her attention is instantly diverted away from me when that puppy of hers starts begging. Funny, no one even batted an eyelash at him.

"Here you go." Libby says softly, chuckling a little and slipping the dog some food.

"What's his name?" Carl asks eagerly.

"Cody." She tells him.

"How'd you choose that name?" Beth asks.

"I didn't. Fay-" Libby starts, but freezes up instantly. "Uh, my neighbor chose the name." She mutters, staring down at her plate. Everyone watches her, confused, but no one questions it. Everyone's quiet for a few minutes.

"Good hunting dogs." I comment, and she looks over at me.

"Hm?" She asks.

"Beagles. They're coon dogs." I tell her. She nods, and Glenn pipes up.

"Maybe you should teach him to hunt." He suggests to me, and I look at Libby.

"I wouldn't mind." She says, shrugging. "He's a little excitable though." In an example, she balls her fist up, as if she's holding a ball, and pretends to throw it. Cody goes wild, chasing after the invisible ball up until he slides into the wall. She chuckles. "A little stupid, too." Cody walks with his head hung low and his tail between his legs back to Libby. She pouts a little, and strokes his back. His spirits are lifted a few seconds later.

"He's loyal." Rick comments. I'm a little surprised, he doesn't usually involve himself in dinner chat anymore. Libby just nods. She's being a lot more talkative than she was before all of this, I observe. She's probably just happy to see us all again.

After dinner, everyone goes off one by one to bed. Cody trails Libby, right on her heels into her cell. I sit on my perch, carving away at a piece of wood nonchalantly. I walk quietly to her cell when I'm positive everyone else is asleep.

She's having tiny spasms, her entire body shaking. Cody's lying on the floor, whimpering. I sit down on the edge of the bed, shaking her shoulders lightly. "Libby." I say quietly. She continues shaking, and I shake her shoulders a little harder. "Libby!" I whisper-shout. The shaking stops, and her eyes flutter open, meeting mine. "Still having nightmares?" I ask, and she just nods, sitting up and grabbing around for her glasses in the dark. I pick them up and hand them to her.

"Thanks." She says quietly, putting them on. "I kind of thought the nightmares would stop, now that I'm back."

"You don't look like you've been sleeping much." I tell her.

"I've tried." She says. "I just can't." I nod understandingly.

"How have you, uh, been?" I ask awkwardly.

"As good as I can be, I suppose." She says, shrugging a little. "You?"

"Fine." I lie. She nods, and we sit in silence. It's not uncomfortable, though. "What was the nightmare about?" I ask finally.

"Little boy." She mutters.

"Still?" I ask, a little astonished.

"Yeah." She says, her voice a little troubled. "He, ah, he said hi, by the way."

I raise a brow. "You know he's not real, right?" I ask.

"Of course I know that." She says defensively. "He just _seems_ real."

"Alright, alright." I say, raising my hands in defeat. "Just checking." She nods.

"So." She says.

"So." I say. We return to silence for a few minutes, until I finally cave in and do what I've wanted to do. I readjust myself on the bed, and gently pull her down into a laying position. I lie behind her, tugging the blanket over us. I wrap my arms around her midsection, and she doesn't hesitate in snuggling up against me. Her familiar warmth takes me over, and I let out a little content sigh. Her hands brush against mine, and I instantly intertwine my fingers in hers. I feel her stir around a bit, fighting sleep.

"Go to sleep." I whisper, and she stops stirring.

"Okay." She whispers back. I feel her drift off to sleep, and eventually, I do too.

…

I wake up well before anyone else does, and slip out of bed, careful not to wake Libby up. I don't especially want to go, but I know she won't want all of the suspicious looks from everyone else, and frankly, I don't either. She stirs a little, her eyes squinting open. "Go back to sleep." I whisper, and she nods, closing her eyes again. I leave her cell and go back to my perch.

**Libby POV**

I wake up, feeling better than I have in months. I walk out to where the others are after getting ready. "Morning." Daryl tells me casually, nodding.

"Morning." I respond, nodding back. I sit next to Maggie, and her eyes dart from Daryl, then to me, then to Daryl, then to me.

"I was thinking about going scavenging today, care to join me?" She asks. I notice Glenn tense up a little, but he doesn't say anything.

"I'd love to." I tell her, and she nods. Daryl raises a brow at me when no one's looking, and I just give him a barely noticeable shrug.

"You sure you two want to do that?" Rick asks us. "We aren't exactly alone out there."

"Well, we can't just sit around waiting for our supplies to run out." Maggie tells him. "And, besides, we still got a lot of catching up to do."

"You spent about four hours catching up with her yesterday." Daryl mutters.

"Oh, I was just telling her about everything that happened back here. I haven't heard a single peep out of her about Woodbury." She says. "Like, for instance, I want to find out if she had a boy toy." I start choking on my gray mush, and she slaps my back. Daryl narrows his eyes at her but doesn't say anything.

"No boy toys." I tell her as soon as I can breathe again.

"That's a little disappointing." She mutters. "What about that neighbor you mentioned last night? Fay?"

"Fay is a ten year old girl." I say. "So, no, there wasn't any romance there."

"Hot dad?" She asks. I pick up her fork and shove it in her mouth. Daryl looks up at the ceiling and mouths 'Thank God.' We all finish eating and Maggie and I head out.

The majority of the car ride is, surprisingly, spent in silence. "So what happened with Daryl?" She asks casually as soon as I take a sip of water. I choke a little.

"You trying to kill me?" I ask accusingly.

"Maybe." She says, shrugging. "Now, answer my question."

"He, uh…" I trail off. I have to find a way to say it without it sounding dirty. "He slept in my bed last night."

"So you two had sex?" She asks bluntly, and I glare at her.

"No." I say sternly. "We just slept."

"Figures." She mutters. "I always figured you two had a little 'thing' for each other, but he just busted into your cell and got in bed with you?"

"Not exactly." I tell her, and explain my whole nightmare situation.

"So this isn't the first time he's been in bed with you." She sums it up.

"Do you really need to say it like that?" I ask.

"Sorry." She says, grinning. "You know what, I'm just glad you're back. You're a lot more talkative, too."

"I missed everyone." I admit, though it's not exactly a secret. We pull into the parking lot of a general store.

**Maggie POV**

After Libby walks throughout the store and deals with the walkers, we grab a couple of hand basket and start looking around for supplies. "Is there anything that's bothering you?" I ask. "I kind of spent the entire of yesterday complaining."

She thinks for a second. "Andrea and Harry are still in Woodbury." She says finally.

"Harry?" I ask, confused, but brighten up instantly. "You _did_ have a boy toy!"

"My uncle Harry." She tells me, rolling her eyes. "Dumbass." She mutters under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

"I thought he was dead, though." I say, feeling a little confused.

"I thought so too." She admits. "But he was at Woodbury when I got there."

"Oh." We're both quiet for a few seconds. "You must be really worried about him, then."

"I'm more worried about Andrea, honestly." She tells me. "Harry and I aren't exactly the closest of family members."

"Then why is it bothering you?" I ask.

"Because he's still family." She says, almost grudgingly.

"Wait…" I trail off, thinking. "Harry was with Merle, when Glenn and I got taken." She tenses up.

"Well then I'll kill him the first chance I get." She says. I don't think she's lying.

"Well, now that's just heartbreaking." We hear a man say, and Libby spins around without hesitation, pulling her gun off of her belt and pointing it at the newcomer. "I mean, I did raise you." The man says, grinning. Libby pulls back the hammer of her gun.

"Get lost." She growls.

"I'm a little disappointed in you, Lib." Harry tells her, putting a hand over his heart. "Some group is more important to you than your own family. Some guy, even." She's quiet for a second, and he laughs. "Andrea told me about your little boyfriend. I'm surprised, really. Merle's brother? Haven't you got any self-respect?" He asks.

"I wouldn't talk like that if I were you." She says coolly, not even a hint of her timid nature in her voice. "I have the upper hand here, and don't you dare think I'll hesitate in putting a bullet through your head."

"What would your father think of that?" He asks. "Killing your own uncle. Your father's brother. What about your mother, huh? Aya? River?" She gets quiet, thinking.

"Libby, he's just messing with you." I tell her, and his eyes finally remember me. He licks his lips, and I cringe a little. He was there.

"I remember you." He says, and lets out a low whistle.

"Don't speak to her. Never speak to her." Libby says protectively, stepping in front of me a little. Her gun is still trained on his head. "I'll kill you for what you did to her, and Glenn. And I'm sure if my father were here, he'd do the same thing. You aren't his brother, or my uncle, or anything. You're scum."

"Someone's come out of their shell, hm?" He asks, completely disregarding her hateful threats. "Only took you, what, thirty-one years? You're a bit of a late bloomer."

"Perfection takes time." She tells him, and he laughs.

"Honey, you're far from perfect." He says, still chuckling. He approaches her. I don't think he believes Libby has the guts to shoot him. "Give me the gun. You won't do it." Instead of giving it to him, she pulls the trigger, and he crumples to the ground. She drops the gun and stumbles back quickly, bumping into me. I grab her by the shoulders as she starts shaking, and turn her towards me. Her eyes are widened in shock and fear.

"I killed him." She says quietly, her eyes watering up a little.

"You did what you had to do." I tell her. "He was a threat, Lib."

"I killed him." She repeats, glancing back at his limp and lifeless body. Blood is pooling around his head. "I've never…" She trails off, and then looks at the ground. "Can we leave?" She ask softly. I nod, and we exit the building, leaving Harry's body behind.

**Daryl POV**

Libby and Maggie return, and I open the gate for them as they pull up. They get out of the car, and I instantly notice something is wrong. Maggie is staring at Libby with sadness and sympathy, and Libby's in some sort of shocked trance. I give Maggie a questioning look, but she just shakes her head.

"Give her some space." She whispers as she passes me, not loud enough for Libby to hear. I do the exact opposite.

"What happened?" I ask her, walking up. She just shakes her head, and goes inside the cell block. I stare after her, and follow her inside. It seems as if Maggie's already warned everyone else, because no one talks to her. I just shake my head a little and get back to what I was doing.

…

Once everyone is asleep, I head to Libby's cell, and discover she's still up, a flashlight resting between her head and her shoulder as she reads a book. She glances up at me, not at all surprised that I'm there. "Hey." She says quietly. I nod to her and sit beside her, peeking over her shoulder at the book.

"What are you reading?" I ask casually.

"A book." She says.

"Sounds pretty good." I mutter, and she glances up at me, smirking a little.

"You can ask." She tells me, giving the permission I've been waiting for. I glance at the door, expecting Maggie to come in and tell me to leave her alone for the fiftieth time that day.

"You sure your bodyguard won't show up?" I ask, and she laughs softly.

"I'm sure." She tells me, setting down the book and the flashlight. I look at her for a second, and find myself relieved by the fact that she's acting herself again.

"Doesn't matter anymore." I say quietly. She looks at me, confused. "You don't need to talk about it, whatever happened." I explain, and she nods, understanding. Without a word, I pull her down into a laying position like the previous night, but have her facing me this time. I lie down beside her, watching her carefully. She doesn't seem to mind in the slightest, so I wrap my arms around her. Her face is barely an inch away from mine. We watch each other, both a little unsure of what to do.

Finally, I tilt my head towards hers, kissing her softly.

**Author's Note- It's good to be back, man, it's good to be back. And it's about fucking time some sort of fucking romance other than some fucking hugs happened. Yes, I realize I'm criticizing my own writing, but I don't care. We're thirteen chapters in, the majority of them three thousand words each. What the fuck, Liva, what the fuck.**

**Alrightie-o, I'll see you guys next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note- Hey, my lovelies!**

**I told a couple of girls at my school about this, so…**

**Hi Gema.**

**I'd just like you to know, I'm keeping my eye on you.**

**You better read my story and give it a good review.**

**Or else an **_**accident**_** might happen.**

**Someone might **_**accidentally**_** spill acids on someone else in science.**

**Someone might **_**accidentally**_** light your hair on fire.**

**Okay, love you, bye!**

**Hi Jade.**

**Uh… what can I hold over your head… goddammit… Just… be good… Don't do drugs…**

**You probably will just have me read the funny parts to you during lunch anyways…**

**Okay, love you, bye!**

**Ah, friendship.**

**(Oh by the way everyone, 24 reviews, 12 favorites, 30 followers, and 3,353 views! WOO!)**

**(Oh and this is a fluff chapter, because why not.)**

**Libby POV**

"Morning." Maggie says as I walk out of my cell the next day.

"Morning." I tell her, accepting a plate of food from Carol and sitting down. Cody runs out of my cell and slides to a stop near my feet. I laugh softly as I slip him some scraps. Daryl comes down from his perch and sits beside me, something that goes unnoticed by everyone but Maggie. She narrows her eyes at him in a 'Don't fucking ask her' kind of way.

After breakfast, I approach Carl. Even though he was initially happy that I was back, he's drawn back into a sort of silent state. I sit beside him, and I he glances up at me. "Who told you to come talk to me?" He asks.

"No one." I say, and he looks back down. We sit in silence for a few minutes. "So," I start casually, "drawing lessons."

"No thanks." He says, and I frown.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because it's not right." He snaps at me. "You can't just act like everything's back to normal, because it's not. You were gone, people died, my mom died. It's not the same."

I'm quiet for a few seconds, slowly piecing it together. "You're mad because I wasn't there." I state, my voice hushed.

"Things might've been different." He admits.

"I wish I had been there too." I say, staring down at my hands. "I'm sorry." He lets out a frustrated sigh, but doesn't say anything. He's grown up a lot more than I realized. "Your sister's pretty." I tell him.

"She looks like Shane."

"She's still your sister." I tell him. "Family's important nowadays."

"Are we still your family?" He asks.

"Of course." I say, and then stand. "If you change your mind about those lessons, come talk to me, alright?"

"Alright." He mutters, and I walk away.

…

"Oh my God." I say, hiding my face in my hands. Daryl and Merle took Cody out hunting with them, and now he's so muddy his fur is black. He sprints up to me, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. "You could've at least dipped him in a stream before you came back." I scold the two brothers, kneeling down and looking my poor little puppy over. "Uck, he's got ticks!" I exclaim.

"Sorry." Daryl mutters, staring at the ground. Merle just laughs.

"That dog you got there treed about fifty squirrels." He tells me.

"This dog I got here needs a bath." I say, picking Cody up and holding him out to Merle. "And guess who's gonna give him one?"

"Daryl?" He asks hopefully.

"Nice try." I tell him, and he mutters something about me being a bitch, but still takes the tiny puppy, walking off. I wipe the mud I got from Cody off on my jeans.

"We don't have running water." Glenn comments. "Where is he taking him?"

"As long as he comes back clean, I don't care." I tell him.

…

"You are never cleaning my dog ever again." I tell Merle after a long silence. Cody is all fluffed up and has pink bows in his hair.

"Where the hell did you find bows?" Daryl questions.

"Secret." Merle says, grinning like an idiot. I kneel down and start taking the bows out, trying my hardest to smooth his fur out.

"You took his manliness away." Maggie says, kneeling beside me and trying to help me with Cody's fur. Cody's tail is wagging about all of the extra attention he's getting.

"My poor baby." I mutter. "I'll never let the mean man put his hands on you ever again."

"Hey, you told me to clean him." Merle says defensively. "Never said _how_ I should clean him."

"If I remember correctly, I told you to give him a bath." I say, glancing up. "This is just animal cruelty." After Maggie and I manage to return Cody to his original 'manliness', everyone returns to their business.

**Author's Note- Yeah, I know it's short, but it's my story, so I'm allowed to do that. Go ahead and bitch about it, cause I'm too blessed to be stressed.**

**Haha I'm just kidding I'm really stressed and that's why this chapter's so short you can go ahead and bitch about it if you want because I'm a terrible person who has lots of schoolwork to do and just doesn't have all of the time in the world anymore haha.**

**Hahahaha**

**Hahahahahahahaha**

**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

***forced laughter***

**Alright talk to you guys later love you lots :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note- Oh. My. God.**

**Okay, first off, sorry for the SUPER long absence. School and what not, you know the deal.**

**And second off THE CLICKY BUTTON ON MY LAPTOP STOPPED WORKING LORD HELP ME. I just need to buy a mouse, but mice cost money, and money is not a thing I have. Sigh. It feels like a liquid spilled on it, but I have honestly not touched my laptop in a week or two. I blame my family.**

**Okay, so I'm listening to music to keep myself calm, and I'll be switching between this and homework all day. Double sigh.**

**And for some stupid reason my math teacher thinks I owe him a mouse because some other idiot lost his mouse connector. Kill me now.**

**Alright, 'nough said, let's get this soul train rollin' again.**

**(Update: SO I GOT REALLY PISSED AT THE CLICKY THING AND HIT IT REALLY HARD AND NOW IT'S WORKING AGAIN. LESSON LEARNED- ANGER ISSUES HELP.)**

**(Update2: SCRATCH THAT IT STOPPED AGAIN)**

**Daryl POV**

I chuckle a little when I see Libby still trying to flatten Cody out. "Ya had to fluff him up?" I ask Merle, who just grins in response. Shaking my head slightly, I walk over and kneel beside her.

"Hey," she says quietly, glancing up at me. Her glasses are lopsided, as usual, though her now shoulder length hair is frizzing out a little. Cody licks my hand when I attempt to push his fur down.

"You had to see it comin' when ya ordered him around like that," I tell her, and she sighs.

"S'pose so," she mutters. "At least he's clean now."

"Clean and violated," I mumble, and she rolls her eyes, sending a glare in Merle's direction. He just smiles sweetly at her, waving. "I feel like this isn't over," I think aloud.

"It isn't," she growls, and I chuckle, patting her arm and standing. I'm not too sure what she'll do, but I'm thinking it's gonna be bad, and I do not want to be here when it happens.

I hear a commotion outside in the courtyard, and Libby stands alongside me, pulling that hatchet off of her belt. We run out, and she stops quickly, making me run into her back. "Let her in," she says to Rick in a low voice, and he nods. I look past her, trying to see what they're talking about. Andrea is standing in front of the gate, with a walker on a chain. Smart.

They quickly let her in, though Rick searches her and takes her weapons away. Everyone is instantly hugging her, much like how they did when Libby got here. Glancing over, I see that she's relieved, probably because the attention has been taken away from her. Andrea finally gets to her and they hug. "Fay's dying to know what happened to you," Andrea tells her, and guilt washes over Libby's features. It disappears quickly, though.

"Let's, uh, let's go inside," she suggests, and everyone heads in.

"I haven't seen Harry for a few days," Andrea continues, and Libby tenses.

"You won't be seeing him," she mutters, and everyone stares at her.

"Lib-" Maggie tries to say.

"What'd you do to him?" Merle questions, interrupting her. Libby stares at the ground, and the way she acted the day before quickly explains itself. She killed her uncle.

"Why don't we just leave that be?" Maggie pleads, earning a nod from everyone but Merle, who is glaring icily at Libby. She shifts uncomfortably, and I put a hand on the small of her back, no longer caring who notices. She moves a little closer to me, avoiding Merle's gaze. I don't think she'll be trying to get back at him for violating Cody anytime soon.

"Why'd you do it?" Andrea asks, bringing the attention away from Libby, who lets out the breath she's been holding.

"They had Glenn and Maggie prisoner," Rick says bluntly. "We had no choice." Andrea's eyes widen, revealing that she didn't know this.

"How'd you know?" she asks Libby.

"I didn't. I was taking a walk and happened to run into Daryl," she explains.

"How'd you get out of-" Andrea tries to ask.

"Back window," Libby tells her, then smirks slightly. "How upset was Milton?" she questions.

"Beyond pissed," Andrea tells her, and her smile widens slightly. Everyone returns their full and complete attention to Andrea.

"Good," Libby mumbles, and I look down at her, smirking. Her cheeks redden as she gets a sheepish look on her face. I chuckle, bumping my arm against hers. She smiles, and I hear Merle clear his throat. I glance over at him, and he gestures for me to go over to him. With a remorseful look back at Libby, I take my hand off of her back and walk over.

"The hell are ya doin' with princess?" he hisses in my ear. I remain silent, unsure of what to tell him. "Ye know she don't give a rat's ass about ch'you, right?"

"What d'you know?" I mutter, and he laughs, getting everyone's attention.

"More than you do, obviously," he says, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You don't know what you're doin', boy. Just give it up." I frown, biting my tongue. If I lose it at him, they'll kick him out for sure.

"What're you guys-" Beth attempts to say.

"Nothin'." I snap, and she flinches back. I see Libby frown out of the corner of my eye, and bring my attention to her, glaring. Her eyes widen slightly, as she wasn't expecting this, but she makes herself emotionless quickly. Merle chuckles softly, seeing as he's stirred shit up. I clench my fists as everyone slowly returns to talking about the Governor.

**Libby POV**

"'Ey, princess," I hear Merle call, and I ignore him. Whatever he told Daryl, it's made him act harshly towards me. He stands in the doorway, blocking me from continuing. I stare up at him patiently, waiting for him to lash out at me for killing Harry.

"Is there something you need?" I ask, and he raises a brow.

"Why'd ya kill him?" he questions, his voice low, so no one can listen in. I sigh.

"C'mon, we might as well get this outta the way." I mutter, and lead him deeper into the prison. This obviously shocks him, as he doesn't make a move to follow me for a few seconds. I glance back. "What, you want a formal invitation? I don't have all day." I say, letting my irritation show. He shakes his head slightly and starts following me. I just need this over with.

I walk into the nurse's area, and stop. He collides with my back, sending him back a few steps. I smirk slightly, enjoying having an advantage over him. "Alrightie, princess, get goin'." He urges me, and I turn towards him, wiping the smirk off of my face.

"Harry was a worthless son of a bitch who enjoyed poking fun at me every chance he got and taking advantage of my shy nature. If I had let him live, he would've gotten in the way later on. It's a cruel way of looking at it, but it's the truth," I say bluntly, and wait. I can see the rage building up in his eyes, and he pushes me up against the wall, holding his stump to my throat.

"The only worthless one around here is you," he growls, and spits in my face. I calmly wipe it away, knowing he won't hurt me. Or, at least, I'm fifty percent positive he won't. Okay, thirty percent.

"It's nice to know you think that," I tell him, and he pushes the metal of his arm harder into my throat. I see black dots as my airway is cut off. Fifteen percent positive.

"I hope the walkers find ya," He hisses, and pushes even harder. I finally go limp from lack of oxygen.

**Daryl POV**

"Has anyone seen Libby?" Carol asks, and everyone looks around halfheartedly, assuming the quiet girl is just reading a book in one of the cells. No one finds her, though.

"Merle isn't here either," Beth mentions, and Rick and I exchange a glance. I grab my crossbow, fearing the worst.

"I'll find 'em," I mumble, and head into the inner prison. As soon as I open the door, though, I run into Merle's chest. He smiles sweetly at me. "Where's Libby?" I question immediately, anger building up in the pit of my stomach.

"What do you mean?" he asks innocently, and I push past him, deciding to let Rick deal with it. I stomp through the empty halls, going to the first place I think Libby would go. Nurse's station. I find walkers surrounding the closed door. I growl, taking them all down quickly. I kick the door open, only to find Libby lying unconscious on the ground. She has bruises on her neck, and my vision goes red as I realize Merle choked her. Only question is, why didn't she fight back? She's more than capable of beating the shit out of Merle, even on her own. I shut the door, and kneel before her.

"Libby," I whisper, shaking her shoulders. Her eyes flutter open.

"Oh, hey," she mumbles weakly. I sit her up carefully.

"Why didn't you fuck Merle up?" I question.

"I wanted him to get it out of his system," she explains, and I sigh, shaking my head a little.

"I don't understand you," I mutter, and the ghost of a smile plays along her lips.

"I'd rather him get it out all at once before it becomes an issue," she continues.

"So you risked your life?" I ask, frowning.

"To be fair, I was fifteen percent positive he wouldn't hurt me," she offers, and I roll my eyes.

"Just c'mon," I grumble, scooping her up into my arms.  
"I can walk," she tells me.

"Don't care," I say, and kick the door open, walking out.

**Author's Note-** **I'm actually very happy with this chapter.**

**Guess it's just cause I get to write again, oh well.**

**Okay, I have a huge load of homework to do, so if you'd like to write an article about the Roanoke mystery for me, be my guest.**

**Love you guys :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note- IDEAS! IDEAS! IDEAS!**

**Oh yeah and you guys might hate me for what's gonna happen in this chapter. But… **_**progress.**_

**Let's get on with this.**

**Libby POV**

Once I'm safely back in the cell block, Daryl checks me over about a billion times before ordering that I stay in my cell. And that was before he let Herschel look at me. I tilt my head back as Herschel pokes and prods at my neck, listening to everyone else arguing about what to do with Merle.

"We have to get rid of him!" Glenn insists.

"We can't," Rick says calmly.

"What?!" Maggie questions, as though he's out of his mind.

"He has a point," Herschel mutters to me as the fighting continues.

"I know," I agree. "Merle knows about that hole in the back of the prison."

"Even if we get it blocked, it's still a weak spot," he adds. I notice everyone out in the cell block has gone quiet.

"They're right," Rick finally picks it back up. "He'd be too much of a liability to let go now."

"Maybe we can just kill him," Glenn mumbles sarcastically.

"Watch your mouth, boy," Daryl says threateningly.

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't want to skin him when you saw what he did to Libby!" Maggie exclaims.

"She's alive, ain't she?!" he retorts.

"What if she wasn't, though?" Glenn asks. "What if-" he's cut off by the sound of Daryl lunging at him.

"Daryl!" I call out, ignoring the discomfort in my throat from speaking too loud. It stops almost instantly.

"Sorry," I hear him grumble.

"Same," Glenn accepts his apology. I hear Merle chuckle, and I can just see both Daryl and Glenn glaring at him. Herschel has stopped checking my throat at this point, we're both just listening in now.

"Try not to speak loudly. Your throat is bruised pretty badly," he mutters, caught up in the conversation.

"Done," I nod.

"Look at y'all, arguing over princess's well bein'." Merle teases. "She's had it comin'."

"Shut it," Daryl growls, his voice getting more and more dangerous by the second.

"Just sayin'." Merle says defensively.

"Yeah, well, I'd stop sayin' things," Daryl snaps. "Cause what you're sayin' is gettin' dumber and dumber by the second."

"Now, listen here, boy-" Merle starts.

"Hey, Libby, two guys are about to get in a fight about you!" Maggie calls, sending the argument to a screeching halt.

...

Rick approaches me early the next day. "Herschel, Daryl, and I are going to have a…" he trails off, "meeting with the Governor. Since we know where he's going to be, and we're running low on ammo, so you think you and Glenn can go out scavenging while we're gone?"

"You really want to leave the prison that defenseless?" I question.

"We'll be even more defenseless if we don't have any guns or ammo," he reasons. "Will you?"

I sigh. "I'll go ask Glenn," I mumble, and walk away before he can get a word in edgewise. "Glenn?" I ask as I walk up to him. He looks up expectantly, waiting for me to say something. "Rick wants us to go out scavenging while he, Daryl, and Herschel are out on a playdate with the Governor," I tell him.

"Has he lost it?" He questions, and I shrug. Rick walks up.

"We'll know where the Governor is," he interrupts Glenn as he opens his mouth to argue. "It's a good of a time as any to stock up." Glenn sighs, nodding.

"Let's get going while it's early, I suppose," he mumbles, and we start grabbing duffel bags.

…

"I still don't feel good about this," Glenn complains as we pull out of the prison.

"I expected you to argue harder than that," I admit. "Why didn't you?"

"Because this isn't a democracy anymore," he tells me, mocking Rick. "You mean Maggie didn't tell you? After at least four hours of catching up?"

"She mostly complained," I explain, and he nods.

"Short version- Rick killed Shane, he's known we're all infected since the CDC, told us we're free to go if we want, but if we stay, it isn't a democracy anymore." He takes a deep breath, having said the whole thing at once.

"That's a little intense," I mutter. "Glad I missed it." He laughs weakly.

"Y'know, Daryl was really torn apart when you didn't show up at the highway block," he tells me. I get quiet, shifting a little.

"I went there," I finally say. "Just once they'd actually let me look around." He opens his mouth to say something else. "Did Maggie tell you to hassle me about Daryl?" I question.

"Maybe," he grumbles sheepishly, and I roll my eyes. We pull into the seemingly empty town, and roll to a stop in front of a convenience store. "Is there even a gun store here?" he asks, his irritation showing. I pull out a map that Rick gave us.

"Nope," I say, popping the p. He groans.

"Might as well try and get some supplies," he murmurs, and we get out of the car. He glances at a jewelry store, and I raise a brow.

"Gonna get yourself some earrings?" I ask as we walk in the general store.

"What? No! I-" he starts, and I chuckle. "I miss when you were quiet and afraid of everything," he complains.

"I bet you miss that pretty little sports car, too," I mention, throwing some supplies into a duffel bag. He's about to retort, but his eyes widen.

"Get down," he hisses, pushing me to the floor and going down with me. "Walkers, gotta be at least fifty," he explains.

"Goddammit," I groan, and look towards the back. There's an office, but there might not be a way out on the other side.

"Lib, I think they smell us," he urges me as some of the monsters start shambling towards the shop. He glances over the top of the shelf, then goes down quickly. "That is a lot more than fifty."

"Okay, okay," I start. "See that door? Way in the back?"

"But-" he tries to argue.

"I know, but it's our only shot," I interrupt.

"You can just push through the herd," he suggests.

"But you can't. And Maggie would kill me if I left you," I say sternly.

"And Daryl would kill me if you died," he argues.

"Just shut up and come on!" I order, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the back room. I throw the door open, and run inside. He has no choice but to follow me.

"There's no door!" he exclaims as the walkers start pouring in through the front. I pull my hatchet off of my belt, glancing around.

"There's a window," I point to it, and he looks at me like I'm crazy. "Do you propose we just wait here?!" Without waiting for a response, I slam my hatchet into the glass, and it shatters. To my dismay, there are still walkers past the grimy window.

"Now what, genius?" he questions. I jump out of the window, killing as many walkers as I can in a tiny amount of time. "Libby!" Glenn calls, from inside the building. I glance back, and see a walker coming up behind him.

"Glenn!" I shriek, and he scrambles away from the deathtrap. It grabs his forearm, though, and everything seems to slow down as it bites into him, tearing tendons and muscles. His veins seem to snap as blood spurts everywhere, drawing more walkers towards him. Almost mechanically, I run towards him, lifting the hatchet high above my head before bringing it down on the killer of my friend.

"No… No…" Glenn repeats over and over again as the walker slumps to the ground. The world comes out of its slowness, and I grab his good arm, dragging him out of the building. I shove past the seemingly endless crowd of the dead, killing the ones that get too close to comfort.

"Hey!" a small voice calls, and I look around. A small, blonde girl is poking her head out of a building. "Come on, before they notice!" she whisper yells, and I run in, still clutching Glenn's arm for dear life.

"Libby… Libby, stop," he argues. "It's over."

"Shut up," I growl, and the girl leads us into a room. There's three people there, a Puerto-Rican woman with thick, dark brown hair and matching eyes, a blonde girl with green eyes who can't be much older than Carl, and a brunette the same age as the blonde, with doe-like brown eyes and olive skin.

"You brought an infected?!" the Puerto-Rican snaps at the little girl who saved us. "Shit, he's bleeding everywhere too…" I ignore her, dragging Glenn over to a table and sitting him in a chair.

"Have you got rubbing alcohol?" I beg, turning to the small group. The older blonde nods, pulling a bottle out of a drawer and tossing it to me. I clean my hatchet as best as I can. "I'm going to need a tourniquet," I tell them.

"A what?" the brunette girl asks.

"Bandana. Cloth. Something to wrap around his arm," I explain hastily, and she pulls her bandana off, tossing it to me. I nod my thanks, and wrap it around Glenn's bicep. Realization settles in his eyes, and they quickly fill with fear.

"Libby, I- I don't want-" he tries to object.

"Maggie," I interrupt, and he goes silent as I tie the bandana tightly.

"Okay," he whispers, and I nod.

"I'm going to need some help holding him down," I tell the group. The little blonde's eyes widen, and she buries her face into the Puerto-Rican woman's leg, who frowns and crosses her arms. The teens, though, run up, grabbing Glenn and holding him sternly. The brunette hands me a bottle of alcohol. "Drink up," I order, passing it off to him. He chugs half of it, and nods, giving me consent to continue. I pull out his arm so that it's entirely on the table, and position the hatchet above his elbow. I raise it up, and slam it down hard, the squelch it makes sickening. Glenn bites his fist and squeezes his eyes shut, holding back his screams. His blood splatters all over my jacket and face, leaving red dots on my glasses. The next time I bring the hatchet down, he blacks out from the pain, going limp. The two teens continue to clutch him nevertheless, their eyes widened and tears threatening to spill over. The hatchet connects with his bloodied mess of an arm a third and final time, and with the last _snap_ of a vein, his forearm is no longer a part of his body. I pour the rest of the rubbing alcohol on his nub, and look around, spotting a gas stove. I pull my knife out of my boot, and hand it to the blonde.

"Turn the oven on, and place it on a burner. Don't take it off until it's red hot, okay?" I request, and she nods, releasing Glenn and dashing off. I turn to the brunette. "Can you grab me some paper towels, or something like that? I need to control the bleeding until I can cauterize the wound." She runs into a kitchen area, and I collapse into a chair beside Glenn, unhappy with how pale he's getting. "Hang in there," I mutter, rubbing his back. The brunette returns, handing me some cloths, which I use to stop the bleeding slightly. "Thank you," I tell her sincerely, and she nods. "What are your names?"

"I'm Lennox, and the fool over by the stove is my twin, Captiva," she tells me. "Jewel's the one looking grumpy in the corner, and Reese is my cowering little sister."

"I'm Libby, and this is Glenn," I introduce us.

"Do you have a group?" Jewel snaps.

"Yes, we were just out scavenging," I say calmly. "Thank you again for helping us." She frowns, saying nothing more. Reese stops clutching her leg and wanders over to me.

"Is he going to be okay?" she whispers, her brown eyes wide.

"I can't be sure," I admit. Captiva runs back, clutching my burning knife.

"Here," she says breathlessly. I take it, and pull the soaked cloths off of Glenn's arm. I press the knife onto it, and grimace at the sizzling sound it makes. I move it around, being sure to get every inch of mutilated skin. I dig around in my backpack pulling out a roll of gauze. I wrap it around his stump, being as gentle as possible. The three sisters stand before me, waiting for some sort of indication that the man they just worked to save will be alright.

"He lost a lot of blood," I tell them. "And I'm not sure I cut off the limb in time."

"So he might still turn?" Captiva questions.

"It's a possibility," I mutter. "I did everything I can, though." Glenn groans, and Reese jumps. Captiva pulls two kunais off of her belt, frowning at him. Lennox pokes his shoulder.

I put two fingers to his throat, and am reassured by his pulse, no matter how faint it is. "He's still with us," I inform the girls, who all sigh in relief. Captiva returns the kunais to her belt. I bite my lip, thinking of how Maggie will react when we don't return when we planned to. How Daryl will react.

Crap.

"Are you okay?" Lennox asks, noticing the troubled look on my face.

"Yeah, yeah," I wave it off. "Glenn's girlfriend is going to be very upset with me, though," I pause, thinking. "And my Daryl is going to go berserk." Jewel walks over to a window, pulling back the shades slightly.

"That herd is not letting up anytime soon. You'll have to stay the night, at least," she comments, her dismay showing in her voice.

"Maybe two or three, for Glenn," Lennox adds. Jewel remains silent, returning to her corner. She only speaks once all eyes are on her.

"I expect you to keep watch on him twenty-four seven," she orders not only me, but the girls as well. "Make sure he doesn't reanimate."

"Yes, ma'am," the girls say in sync. I sigh, rubbing Glenn's back once more.

**Daryl POV**

We return to the prison, and I glance around, looking for Libby. When I don't instantly see her, I check all of the cells. Then the nurse's station. She's in none of these places. "You mean they aren't back yet?" Rick asks Maggie, who shakes her head. Her eyes are glossed over with fear, and she's biting her thumbnail nervously.

"Where'd they go?" I question.

"Scavenging," Rick informs me, and I grab my crossbow.

"Tell me where they went, I'll go get 'em," I offer. Maggie looks immensely relieved.

"I'll go with you," she says instantly, and I nod. Rick examines us.

"I'd say no, but I'm guessing I won't win that argument," he mutters, and hands us a map after circling a town. Disregarding anyone's objections, we head out.

…

"Oh my God," Maggie whispers as we stand outside of the town. From what we can see, it's filled to the brim with walkers.

"They're fine," I mutter. "They're fine. Probably holed up in a building, waiting for the herd to clear up." She nods, swallowing slightly.

"There's no way we can get in there," she mumbles. "They're on their own." Without another word, we get back on my bike and ride away.

**Author's Note- Heh. Sorry about uh, cutting off one of Glenn's limbs.**

**What do you think of my new characters? Jewel? Cap and Lenny? Reese's Pieces? Tell me in the reviews! I miss you guys!**

**Alright, see ya next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note- Hey!**

**Y'like that cover? GemaFromScience made it. It's not the full picture, though, that wouldn't fit. You can see it at my fan Instagram, YummyJuices. It's got Cody in it :)**

**Alright let's keep goin'!**

**Daryl POV**

"It's been two days," Rick reasons. "I think it's time that we start considering the other possibilities."

"There are no other possibilities," Maggie growls. "It's Glenn and Lib. They'd hide out somewhere, wait for the herd to pass."

"Probably already has," I mention. "We can go down there and look for 'em."

Rick looks at the pair of us. "Again, I won't argue," he mutters, and we grab our things, getting ready to go.

**Libby POV**

"He needs medical help," I mumble to Jewel, who's grown much warmer over the past few days. She was just wary of us because we're strangers. "I need to go on a run."

"Are you sure?" she asks nervously.

"I'm not giving up on Glenn yet. He can still pull through," I tell her sternly, and she sighs.

"We'll keep an eye on him," she assures me, and I grab a duffel bag, heading out the door. I jog down the street past the stragglers of the herd, and slide inside the pharmacy.

**Daryl POV**

I hold my hand up, stopping Maggie. "Somethin's movin' inside the pharmacy," I breathe.

"Is it…" she trails off.

"Only one way to find out," I mutter, and walk in the pharmacy, my crossbow raised. She follows close behind.

"Glenn?" she calls out, and I hush her quickly, not knowing how many walkers are in here.

"Maggie?" a familiar voice calls back, and I lower my bow, closing my eyes in relief. I open them to see Libby rounding a corner, a full duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "Okay, now I have a good explanation," she starts. Maggie engulfs her in a hug, cutting her short.

"Where's Glenn?" she questions as she releases Libby, who stares at the ground.

"He's alive," she mumbles. "C'mon, I'll take you to him." She starts walking, but Maggie grabs her wrist before she can get far.

"Was he bitten?" she asks sternly.

"I'm going to talk and I need you to listen, without any interruptions," Libby states. "Alright?" Maggie nods, and Libby takes a deep breath. "Yes, Glenn was bitten." Maggie's eyes widen, but true to her word, she says nothing. "I had to… I amputated his arm. He's breathing, but… barely." She shrugs the bag up higher on her shoulder. "C'mon," she murmurs, and we follow without a word. She leads us to an apartment building, and we're greeted by one woman and three girls. The woman raises her gun at the sight of us.

"Maggie and Daryl," Libby says simply, and the gun is lowered. Maggie rushes over to Glenn, who's laid out on a couch. Libby follows her, pulling a syringe and some morphine out of her bag.

"He's in a lot of pain," she explains as she injects it into her good arm. "Try not to-" Maggie hugs Glenn, and he lets out a groan. Libby sighs, taking some antibiotics out and crushing them, mixing it with water and dripping it into Glenn's mouth. "Just pour this in his mouth occasionally, okay?" she asks Maggie, handing her the bottle. She nods, and Libby stands, walking to stand with me.

"You're not goin' scavenging for a long time," I mutter, and she rolls her eyes.

"Nice to see you too, Daryl," she teases. The three teenagers walk up to us.

"Is Glenn going to be okay?" the brunette asks.

"Len, she's already told you she doesn't know," the smallest one scolds her.

"Reese, be nice," the blonde hisses.

"What'll you do? Stab me?" Reese asks sarcastically. The three sisters continue to argue, and I raise a brow at Libby.

"Lennox, Reese, and Captiva," she introduces them, gesturing to each as she says their names. "They're sisters."

"And that one?" I ask, nodding towards the Hispanic woman.

"Jewel. She's going to be, well, she doesn't like strangers too much," Libby explains.

"How soon will we be able to get Glenn back to the prison?" I ask.

"He needs to at least be conscious. I still don't know if he'll… yeah," she tells me in a low voice, so Maggie won't hear. "What's going on with the Governor situation?" I blow out a puff of air. "That bad, huh?" she asks.

"Could say that," I admit. "We should at least head back and tell 'em what's goin' on." I look at her hopefully. "You comin'?"

She gives me a sad smile. "I have to stay and keep an eye on Glenn," she tells me, and the teens stop arguing abruptly.

"We can do it," Lennox offers.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Captiva agrees.

"I like poking him," Reese grins, and Libby frowns.

"Keep that one away from him," she orders, gesturing to Reese.

"So you'll go?" Lennox asks hopefully.

"You really wanna get rid of me that bad, huh?" Libby questions, and the three girls glance at me quickly.

"Something along the lines of that," Lennox says, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"I'll go tell Maggie, then," Libby tells me, walking towards the crying woman. The girls continue to grin at me.

"What?" I ask defensively, shifting slightly.

"Oh, nothing," Captiva says nonchalantly. "You're Daryl, right?"

"Yeah," I mumble, narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously. "how d'ya-"

"Libby said you and the girl on the couch would kill them for being gone for so long," Reese interrupts smugly.

"And yet you're lettin' her leave with me," I retort. Soon enough, I find myself in a petty argument with three teenage girls. Now whose fault is that?

I finally glance away from the girls, and discover Libby and Jewel watching us. Libby has her hands on her hip and her head cocked to the side, with a slight smirk on her face. Jewel seems just as amused, though her hands are on her hips as though she's trying to look serious.

"They started it," I grumble, and Libby rolls her eyes.

"Whatever you say," she teases. "C'mon, we should get back now." I nod, and after brief goodbyes, we head out.

**Libby POV**

"Ya gotta stop disappearin' like that," Daryl blurts out as soon as we're alone. I laugh, making him frown. "I'm serious. What if you had got bitten instead of- I realize what I'm sayin', stop lookin' at me like that!"

"C'mon, you knew I'd be fine." I nudge his arm.

"I saw the size of that herd," he scolds me. "Don't act like it was no big deal."

"But-"

"Nope."

"I was just-"

"Not happening."

"I wanted to-"

"You ain't goin' scavengin' ever again."

"I didn't even want to go-"

"So why did you?"

"Rick-"

"You woulda argued the hell outta Rick, and you know it."

"That's not-"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it-"

He cuts me off by grabbing my waist and pressing his lips firmly to mine. He pulls away after a few seconds, looking me in the eye. "Yes it is," he mumbles, releasing me and walking ahead. I stand there for a few seconds, opening and closing my mouth a few times.

I finally stomp my foot. "No it isn't!" I snap, and he chuckles, not stopping. I groan and follow after him until we make it to his motorcycle. He gets on, and glances back at me, patting the space behind him. I climb on, wrapping my arms around him.

"Maggie held on a lot tighter than you did," he comments lightly, and I frown, holding him tightly. He coughs. "Not that tight," he grumbles.

"You asked for it," I remind him, and he grumbles something I can't make out. Before I can ask what it was, the bike roars to life and we speed off.

**Author's Note- *grins devilishly***

**Daryl's discovered how to fluster Libby.**

**And he's enjoying it. A lot.**

**Oh yeah and SECOND KISS FINALLY. They really put a meaning to 'taking it slow.'**

**5,354 views, 33 followers, 39 reviews, and 15 favorites! I love you guys so much!**

**Alright see ya next chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note- Hiya!**

**I'm sick and miserable! Yay!**

**And I've got a fever, and when I have fevers… well, remember the, um, chapter where I drank a lot of Crystal Light that might've been wine? Yeah… This is gonna be a whole lot like that. At least a lot of you guys liked that chapter, so I'll be good.**

**You know what though, I would totally love you forever if you brought me coffee and some fuzzy blankets and maybe some books and I could just curl up and sleep and… that'd be good. My head hurts. So does my tummy. And now that I think about it, my everything hurts. And I'm paler than usual and the bags underneath my eyes are Gucci knockoffs, thanks for asking. But my socks are fuzzy and I'm watchin' some "Cry Plays" and that just makes everything okay. His voice is just so calmin'. *gasp* I HAVE HOT CHOCOLATE OH MY GOD I'LL BE BACK IN LIKE FIVE MINUTES.**

**This is some sexy cocoa. **

**Let's get into this.**

**Libby POV**

"Okay, Death Grip, release," Daryl grumbles as we slow to a stop in the prison. I let him go and climb off of the bike as everyone runs out of the cell block. I'm hugged tightly by most everyone.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" Herschel questions, knitting his brows together.

"They stayed behind," Daryl tells him. "Glenn isn't doin' so good."

"What do you mean?" Rick asks.

"He was bit. Lib had to amputate his arm," he explains. "They're with a buncha irritatin' teenage girls."

"They're not that irritating," I defend them.

"The little one threatened to-" he starts.

"She was just joking," I interrupt him.

"Sure she was." He rolls his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be with Glenn?" Beth asks.

"Everyone thought it was a good idea that I check in with you guys," I tell her. "I'm going to head back soon."

"What was that about teenage girls?" Michonne questions, her arms crossed.

"Well, three teenage girls and a woman," I elaborate. "Like I said, they're not as bad as Daryl says."

"But-" he tries to argue.

"You got in a petty argument with them over who knows what," I remind him. He frowns, but doesn't try to argue any further.

"You should probably be heading back," Rick mentions and hands me a gun. "I know you don't like using them, but everyone would feel better if you had it." I nod, sticking it in my belt. After a few quick goodbyes, Daryl and I get back on his motorcycle and head out. After a while though, the motorcycle slows to a stop.

"Goddammit," he mutters. "Outta gas." We climb off of the bike, and I look around, trying to figure out where we are.

"We aren't that far," I tell him. "We could just walk the rest of the way, and pick up some gas in town." He nods in agreement, and we start walking. Once we're near the town, he throws his hand in front of me, making me stumble.

"What?" I question.

"Listen," he whispers, and I shut up, doing what he says. I hear the faint whooping and hollering of men, coming from the direction of town. I frown, looking at Daryl.

"You don't think…" I trail off.

"C'mon. Quietly," he instructs, and we walk through the town, keeping out of sight as best as we can. He suddenly pushes me down behind a dumpster, kneeling down with me. He puts a finger to his lips as a caravan drives by, being loud and rowdy. He has one hand on the small of my back and the other holding his crossbow, and he glances over the top quickly. "They're stoppin'. Where's the apartment?" he questions.

"Three blocks," I answer, making him frown. He glances at the building to the left of us, which has one of its windows cracked. Looking at me with a sort of sad look, he slams his fist on it, shattering it.

"What are you-" I whisper heatedly.

"Get inside. Hide," he growls, shoving me towards the opening.

"What about you?" I question, gripping his arm so he can't push me away.

"Just go," he orders, slapping my hand off of his arm. Before I can protest, he kisses me quickly and softly, then picks me up by the waist and hefts me through the gap. "Now hide, unless you wanna get us both killed," he hisses, and I hide in a cabinet near the window, so I can hear everything going on.

"Man, what the hell was that?" a gruff voice ask.

"Fuckin' walkers," Daryl explains.

"You alone? Fancy ass bow ye got there," another voice asks.

"Yeah, I'm alone. Old group was a buncha pussies, ditched 'em," Daryl explains. I close my eyes tight as I realize what he's doing.

"Don't," I whisper, even though he can't hear me.

"Happen to know where they are?" the first voice asks.

"Yeah, place called the Greene farm," Daryl tells him. Don't do it. Please.

"Mind, ah, showin' us the way?" the man asks.

"If we leave now, we can get there by sunset," Daryl answers, and I bury my face in my knees. No. Stop it. Kill them or something, you crossbow bearing, walker killing, ear necklace making, temper tantrum throwing son of a bitch.

I fight the urge to call out as the caravan pulls away, biting down on my tongue. I crawl out of the cabinet, and hop out of the broken window, just in time to see the caravan disappear. I stare after it for a second, still trying to process what happened.

Daryl Dixon, you lifesaving douchebag.

I fight back my involuntary tears as I start my slow walk to the apartment. He's not just going to… stay with them, is he? Not sure if he'll have much of a choice. It might even be Randall's group, who knows. I heave a sigh as I slip through the door and walk down the dark halls to the room the small group is at.

When I open the door, I'm greeted by the business end of a gun. "It's Libby!" Reese squeaks, and Jewel lowers her gun.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "There was this caravan, and-"

"I know," I tell her curtly. "It's fine."

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice I haven't heard over the span of a few days ask, and I look over to the couch. Glenn's sitting up, and Maggie is glued to his side.

"Where's Daryl?" Maggie questions.

"The caravan," I mutter, plopping down in a chair.

"What?" Glenn asks, straightening slightly, even though it obviously pains him to do so.

"The caravan was stopped near us and it was a matter of time before they saw us, so Daryl broke a window and shoved me inside and…" I trail off, feeling my bottom lip tremble as the words fly out of my mouth.

"He left with them so you'd be safe," Maggie finishes, and it feels like a punch to the stomach. I had assumed he'd done it for the safety of everyone, but thinking back on it, he had done it to keep me alive. I swallow hard, nodding.

"Jeez, Lib…" she trails off, and I just shake my head.

"It's fine. I'm fine," I tell her. "Glenn, how's your… stub?"

"Well, I won't be very handy anymore, but other than that-" He's cut off by Maggie smacking him upside the head.

"That wasn't funny twenty minutes ago, and it isn't funny now," she chides him.

"Let me change your bandages, then we can see about getting back to the prison." I sit beside Glenn, and Captiva throws me a roll of gauze. I nod my thanks, and start unraveling his soiled bandages.

"But what if Daryl comes back? He won't be able to find us," he reasons innocently, and I glance at Maggie.

"I'm going to assume the medicine's making him an idiot," I comment.

"If only," she grumbles, and I finish dressing the wound. I look up at Jewel and the girls, who have been oddly quiet. Maggie gives me a quizzical look, as though she's asking whether they're going to stay here or if they're going to go.

"It's safer at the prison. Caravans like that don't just roll through," I reason.

"Rick won't be very happy," she argues nervously.

"Rick's the whole reason Glenn lost his arm and Daryl's gone," I retort. "He has a problem with it, I'll give him an earful."

"What do you mean?" she questions.

"He sent us here to scavenge when it wasn't necessary," I explain, then turn to Jewel and the others. "What do you say? The prison's relatively safe, a lot safer than this place, anyways," I offer.

"I wanna go," Reese votes.

"Yeah," Captiva agrees.

"I wanna see Libby yell at a guy," Lennox adds.

"I think that settles it," Jewel finishes, and I nod.

"Pack your things, then," I tell them. "I'll go grab the car." With that, I head out the door.

**Author's Note- I hope you like my little cough medicine chapter! It may not be the best, I know, but hey, stuff happens.**

**See ya next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note- Heyo!**

**Yeah, sorry for the absence. School, ya know. As much as I'd like to spend all of my time writing, I cannot. So, to all of you who've stuck with me, I thank you profusely.**

**Let's get goin'!**

**Libby POV**

I walk back into the apartment, only to see Maggie smacking Glenn. She looks up at me. "Please make him stop making hand jokes," she begs.

"I gotta _hand_ it to you, Lib-" Glenn starts. I grab a roll of duct tape off of the table and toss it to Maggie.

"Go wild," I encourage her, and she pulls a strip off, putting it over Glenn's mouth. He starts to peel it off, so she grabs his arm, but hesitates when she realizes she can't bind his hands together. Instead, she puts his hand on his back and wraps almost the entire roll around his midsection. "That works too," I mumble. "Car's ready." Jewel, Lennox, Reese, and Captiva head out the door, but Maggie grabs my arm before I can follow them.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asks in a low voice.

"I'll survive," I mutter. "At least he's not dead, right?" She nods, even though the false hope in my voice is evident. That group is not going to be happy when they figure out Daryl was lying about the farm. Even if they don't realize that, they'll still be angry about the fact that he led them to an empty farm, except for maybe some stragglers. Maggie and I lead the grumpy, restrained, and drugged Glenn out of the building and into the car. "I'll drive," Maggie offers.

"Alright," I agree halfheartedly, and settle into the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window. "Is Merle still contained in his cell?" I ask abruptly.

"No, why?" she questions. I slump down a little.

"Who do you think he'll blame for losing Daryl?" I murmur.

"It's not your fault," she consoles me. "He was just trying to keep you safe."

"I'd have done the same," Glenn chimes in, and I look in the backseat.

"How in the name of God did you get that duct tape off?" I question.

"Magic," he replies.

"Magic by the name of Lennox," Captiva grumbles, and Lennox puts on her best innocence face.

"Who, me?" she asks. I roll my eyes.

"Might as well unwrap him now. Waste of duct tape," I tell her, and she starts unwrapping Glenn with the help of Reese. I turn back towards the dash, and lean my head up against the window. Without realizing it, I drift off to sleep.

**Maggie POV**

"What do you mean, 'they're staying'?" Rick asks. "That's not your decision to make."

"I didn't. Libby did," I tell him, gesturing towards the car where we left Libby to sleep. "I wouldn't argue with her, she's got a bone to pick with you."

"What do you mean?" he questions.

"She says you sent her and Glenn on a pointless supply run for guns, when there wasn't a single gun shop in that town," I explain. "If you hadn't have sent them out, Glenn wouldn't have lost his arm and Daryl wouldn't be gone."

"Gone?" Merle asks. "Y'mean he isn't just shackin' it up with Gingey?"

"He let himself get caught to keep Libby safe," Glenn blurts out, and I smack his shoulder. This is the worst moment for him to be high on pain meds. Merle's eyes darken as they fill with rage, and he stomps towards the car. Rick, Michonne, and I grab him before he can make it.

"Bitch is the plague!" he exclaims.

"Keep your voice down," Michonne hisses. We drag him into the cell block, with difficulty, and Rick shoves him into a chair.

"Do you even realize what kind of person Libby is?" Rick growls. "She'd save your sorry ass no matter what you did to her. I suggest you show her some respect."

"She let my brother just go!" Merle argues.

"Knowing Libby, she probably argued against it," Michonne reasons. "But in a moment like that, you don't have time to sit down and debate."

"She's crushed," I add. "She's trying not to let it show, but… you can see it in the way she moves. She's a little slower, almost dazed. I know she'd take Daryl's place if she had the chance." His muscles relax, but his rage still shows in his face.

"Libby doesn't want you to hate her," Beth speaks up, making me jump. I hadn't noticed her sitting in the corner and bouncing Judy on her leg. "I think you know that."

"Can't always get what you want," Merle grumbles. With that, he rises and stomps off into the inner prison. We stand in silence for a few seconds.

"Someone should go wake Libby up," Michonne decides.

"I got it." I briskly walk out of the cell block and towards the car.

**Libby POV**

"How mad is he?" I ask quietly, my knees drawn up to my chest. Michonne's silence is answer enough.

"You can't blame yourself," she tells me softly. "You know Daryl doesn't regret what he did." I stare down at my knees, every word I want to say getting caught in my throat. She pats my shoulder. "Guess someone should go looking for him," she mumbles, standing and grabbing her katana. She lingers for a second, waiting for a response. When she doesn't get one though, she slips out. Rick walks in, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not going to argue your decision of bringing that group here," he begins.

"Why?" I ask.

"Excuse me?"

"'This isn't a democracy anymore?' What's that about?" I question. "You're a strong man Rick, but you can't handle managing an entire group on your own. You've always had Shane, or Daryl, or even Glenn. If you haven't got a sense of democracy, you're as bad as the Governor." He drops his head, staring at the ground. I don't rouse him from his silence. I want the words to sink in, for their meaning to have an effect on him. He raises his head, looking at me. His eyes are red-rimmed, and he looks twenty years older than he actually is. "I'm not trying to put you down," I continue gently. "You need to realize these are things you can't do on your own. You'll snap."

He opens his mouth, but snaps it shut quickly. I can see his thoughts swimming in his eyes, trying to figure out the right thing to say. "Where's Michonne?" he asks finally.

"She went looking for Merle, why?" I question. He stands quickly, wiping the tears from his eyes before they can spill over.

"C'mon. We have to get her before anything happens," he urges me, and I stand quickly. He rushes towards the door, but I grab his arm.

"Rick, what's going on?" I ask sternly.

"The Governor wants Michonne," he explains. "And Merle knows." I release his arm without another word and follow him out of the cell. People try to stop us as we rush through the door Michonne left in, but we don't stop. I stop running abruptly.

"Rick," I call, but he doesn't stop. "Rick!" He pauses, turning to face me. I kneel down before some walkers, examining the wounds in their head. There's only three weapons in this prison that would leave a mark like that- my knife, Michonne's katana, and Merle's… 'replacement', as he called it all those months ago. I turn towards the spall blood splatter on the ground. It's fresh.

"Well?" he asks.

"Michonne found Merle. They killed some walkers, then… Merle must've knocked her to the ground. Made her black out," I determine.

"We'll go after her," he decides.

"I'll do it," I counter, standing.

"Libby-" he starts. I leave no room for argument as I snatch his gun from his holster and start walking towards the exit.

…

I jog down the road, and come face to face with Michonne as she turns a corner. "Thank God," I mumble, looking her over. Other than a head injury, she's fine. "Where's Merle?" I question.

"He let me go. Told me he had something he needed to do," she explains, and I bite ly lip, looking down at the revolver in my hand.

"Get back to the prison," I order.

"What about you?"

"Not gonna let him get himself killed," I mutter, and continue on down the road.

**Author's Note- It's short, I know, but it's the best I could do with my hour and a half of free time. What d'ya think is gonna happen with Merle? Will he be a walker? Or do I have some tricks up my sleeve? Tell me what you think in the reviews!**

**Alright, that's all I got, see ya next time!**


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